Report 

of 

Rochester  Milk  Survey 

by  the 

Committee  on  Public  Safety 

of  the 

Common  Council 


Report 

of 

Rochester  Milk  Survey 

by  the 

Committee  on  Public  Safety 

of  the 

Common  Council 


Charles  E.  North,  M.D.,  Director 

December,  1919 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION 

In  response  to  a  widespread  demand  on  the  part  of  many  of  the 
citizens  of  Rochester  for  an  official  investigation  of  the  high  cost  of  milk, 
and  the  recognition  by  the  city  officials  that  the  cost  of  milk  had  greatly 
increased  in  recent  months,  the  Common  Council  of  the  City  of  Roch- 
ester planned  to  conduct  a  milk  survey  in  accordance  with  the  following 
resolution : 

City  Clerk's  Office, 
City  Hall, 

Rochester,  N.  Y,  July  10,  1919. 
To  Whom  It  May  Concern  : 

I  Hereby  Certify,  That  at  a  session  of  the  Common  Council  of  the  City  of 
Rochester,  held  in  the  City  Hall  on  Tuesday,  'April  22,  1919,  an  ordinance  was 
adopted,  of  which  the  following  is  a  true  copy ;  and  that  at  the  time  said  ordinance 
was  adopted  the  Common  Council  of  said  City  consisted  of  twenty-four  members. 

By  ALD.  HART — 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  Common  Council  of  the  City  of  Rochester  as  follows : 

Section  1.  The  Committee  on  Public  Safety  of  the  Common  Council  is  hereby 
authorized  and  directed  to  investigate  and  inquire  into  the  distribution  of  milk  used 
in  the  City  of  Rochester  and  the  sanitary  conditions  surrounding  the  same  and  the 
cost  thereof ;  and  as  to  the  expediency  of  the  purchase  and  distribution  by  the  city 
of  all  milk  used  in  the  city;  and  as  to  the  expediency  and  expense  of  any  other 
method  designed  to  secure  the  control  by  the  city  of  the  distribution  of  milk;  and 
into  the  production  of  milk  used  in  the  City  of  Rochester  and  the  sanitary  conditions 
surrounding  the  same  and  the  cost  thereof ;  and  as  to  the  expediency  and  expense 
of  the  production  by  the  city  on  municipally  owned  farms  of  all  milk  used  in  the 
city;  and  to  report  to  the  Common  Council  the  result  of  its  investigation  with  such 
recommendations  concerning  the  same  as  it  deems  proper. 

Sec.  2.  The  employment  of  one  or  more  experts  to  assist  said  Committee  in  its 
investigation  is  hereby  authorized,  such  employment  to  be  without  competition,  at 
a  compensation  to  be  fixed  by  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment,  and  it  is 
hereby  declared  to  be  impracticable  to  procure  the  services  of  such  experts  by  com- 
petitive contract. 

Sec.  3.    This  ordinance  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

Adopted  by  the  following  vote: 

Ayes — Aldermen  Catiley,  Ward,  Hart,  Somers,  Friedler,  Rosenberg,  Messinger, 
Kane,  Steelsmith,  Carroll,  Chilson,  Cook,  Russell,  O'Neil,  Bareham,  Stanley,  Rap- 
pleye,  Morgan,  Hoffman,  DePotter,  Dentinger,  Hannahs,  Ruppel. — 23. 

Nays — None. 

And  I  further  certify  that  said  ordinance  was  submitted  to  His  Honor,  the 
Mayor  of  said  City  of  Rochester,  by  whom  the  same  was  approved. 

Attest:  JOSEPH  A.  CRANE, 

City  Clerk. 

The  present  director  of  this  survey  was  employed  by  the  City  of 
Rochester  to  organize  and  conduct  a  milk  survey,  beginning  on  July 
8th,  1919. 


>^i  SQRVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF  ROCHESTER 


: :  •:  :'•  :  V.: :    :  4. SURVEY  OF  MILK  SURVEYS 

In  order  that  the  proposed  survey  might  be  planned  in  a  manner 
that  would  insure  results  of  the  most  practical  value  to  the  city,  con- 
sideration was  first  given  to  the  work  performed  in  previous  milk  sur- 
veys. All  of  these  include  plans  of  organization,  subjects  of  study,  and 
recommendations  which  are  contributions  to  the  plans  for  the  Rochester 
Survey  and  a  brief  consideration  of  them  will  form  the  best  possible 
introduction  to  the  present  Rochester  Survey. 

The  list  of  these  surveys  is  as  follows : 


Date 

1911-12 

1915 


Place 

Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Detroit,  Mich. 


1916-17  New  York  State 


1917 
1917 

1917 
1917 


1917 
1919 

1919 
1919 
1919 
1919 


Berkeley,  Cal. 
New  York  City 

New  England 

Pennsylvania, 

Maryland, 

Delaware 

Canada 

New  York  State 

Spokane,  Wash. 
Winnipeg,  Man. 
New  York  City 
New  York  State 


1919        New  York  State 


Auspices 
Private 
U.  S.  Dept  of  Agriculture 

New  York  State  Senate 

and  Assembly 
University  of  California 
Mayor's  Committee  on 

Milk 
Boston  Chamber  of 

Commerce 
Governors'  Tri-State 

Commission 

Food  Controller 

Council  of  Farms  and 
Markets 

Chamber  of  Commerce 

City  Council 

Private 

Governor's  Commission  on 
High  Cost  of  Living 

New  York  State  Recon- 
struction Commission 
-  (Committee  on  Food  Pro- 
duction and  Distribution) 


Directed  by 
Dr.  John  R.  Williams 
C.  E.  Clement  and 
G.  P.  Warber 
Senator  Wicks 

Elwood  Mead 

Dr.  Charles  E.  North, 

Chairman 

R.  W.  Bird,  Chairman 
Dr.  A.  G.  Gilbert,  Secretary 
Dr.  Clyde  L.  King, 

Chairman 

P.  B.  Tustin,  Chairman 
W.  A.  Dana,  Chairman 

J.  K.  McCormack,  Chairman 
R.  D.  Hughes 
I.  G.  Jennings 
Martin  H.  Glynn  and 
John  H.  Finley 
Thomas  V.  Patterson, 

Chairman 
Herschel  H.  Jones, 

Secretary 


1911-12,  Rochester,  N.  Y.  ("The  Economic  Problems  of  Milk  Dis- 
tribution in  their  Relation  to  the  Public  Health,"  by  Dr.  John  R. 
Williams.  Transactions  of  the  Fifteenth  International  Congress  on 
Hygiene  and  Demography,  Washington,  D.  C,  1912.) 

The  studies  in  this  survey  were  confined  strictly  to  the  City  of 
Rochester,  and  were  conducted  entirely  under  the  auspices  of  Dr.  John 
R.  Williams,  of  Rochester,  at  his  own  private  expense.  The  time  con- 
sumed in  the  investigation  was  over  one  year  and  a  half,  and  a  number 
of  investigators  were  employed  by  Dr.  Williams.  Not  only  because  this 
survey  deals  particularly  with  the  City  of  Rochester,  which  is  the  sub- 
ject of  the  main  survey  in  our  own  report,  but  also  because  it  was  the 
first  and  by  far  the  most  comprehensive  survey  yet  made  of  the  cost  of 
milk  distribution  and  the  unnecessary  expenses  connected  with  the  same 
it  is  desirable  to  consider  the  material  in  this  report  in  some  detail  It 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF  ^ROCHESTER  ,V;5. 

will  also  be  interesting  to  compare  the  conditions  prevailing!  byl*fyl*  yrith 
the  conditions  prevailing  in  1919. 

The  first  branch  of  Dr.  Williams'  study  in  Rochester  consisted  of  a 
house  to  house  canvass  in  15  sections  of  the  city,  each  containing  from 
100  to  700  homes.  In  all  about  5,000,  or  about  one-tenth  of  the  homes 
in  the  city  were  visited.  The  results  of  this  investigation  are  given  in  the 
table  below : 


MILK.  £$RVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 


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MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 7 

Attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  the  proportion  of  children  under 
5  years  of  age  is  greater  among  the  poor  than  among  the  well-to-do,  and 
that  the  use  of  store  milk  and  condensed  milk  is  confined  largely  to  the 
laboring  classes,  which,  it  is  suggested,  is  due  to  lack  of  refrigerators  or 
ice. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  this  table  shows  the  large  number  of 
milkmen  going  into  each  district.  In  section  No.  4,  273  homes  are  sup- 
plied by  27  distributers  travelling  more  than  25  miles,  whereas  one  dealer 
could  render  the  same  service  travelling  not  more  than  2.6  miles.  In 
section  No.  8  are  57  distributers  travelling  over  30  miles  supplying  363 
homes,  which  could  be  served  by  one  distributer  travelling  1.7  miles.  The 
report  points  out  the  great  wastefulness  of  the  present  system  of  distribu- 
tion, due  to  duplication. 

Another  important  branch  of  this  investigation  consisted  of  a  study 
of  the  cost  of  distribution.  Information  was  secured  from  173  dis- 
tributers. Almost  all,  excepting  half  a  dozen,  had  no  accounting  system, 
and  approximate  costs  were  arrived  at  by  enquiry  into  the  businesses. 
The  results  of  this  enquiry  are  shown  in  the  following  table : 


B 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  2 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  TOTAL  ACCOUNTING  OF  MILK  DISTRIBUTERS 

IN   ROCHESTER,  GROUPED  ACCORDING  TO   THE 

VOLUME  OF  BUSINESS  DONE 


Schedules. 

Distributers  selling  daily— 

*c3 

g 

JL 

g|j 

O  in 

co 

Not  more  1 
ISOquar 

21 

E  O 

£ 

From  301  1 
1,000  quarl 

1,000  quart 
or  more. 

Distributers    number                  

25 

2,887 
129 

101 

21,368 
2,411 

44 

17,180 
3,415 

3 

8,900 
6,000 

173 

50,335 
11,947 

\Iillc  retail  quarts                •             •   . 

Milk  wholesale  quarts 

Total  milk  sold  quarts        .... 

3,016 

29 

34 
26 
199 
1,885 

23,799 

133 
160 
137 
1,053 
13,915 

20,599 

99 
101 
92 
616 
9,490 

14,900 

95 
65 

50 
641 
9,800 

62,314 

356 
360 
305 
2,509 
35,090 

Men  employed  number             

Horses  employed  number 

\Vagons  employed   number 

Length  of  route   miles                .  .   . 

Customers    number                  

Value  milk-  room  equipment  

$2,407 
8,815 

$17,295 
45,105 

$16,750 
28,495 

$38,450 
25,035 
96,700 

$76,902 
107,450 
96,700 

Value  horses  and  wagons  

Value  real  estate  

Total  investment    

$11,222 

$6.17 
8.92 
4.35 
25.30 
5.60 
7.38 

$62,400 

$  34.17 
42.25 
36.59 
152.50 
48.95 
77.36 

$44,245 

$  25.16 
39.03 
28.55 
101.00 
74.20 
74.89 

$160,185 

$  45.15 
17.20 
14.55 
100.00 
193.06 
21.00 

$278,052 

$  110.65 
107.40 
84.04 
378.80 
321.81 
180.63 

Interest,  depreciation  on  investment.  . 
Cost  of  coal  and  ice  

Milk  shrinkage   waste,  etc  

Maintenance  horse  and  wagon  

Daily  wages   labor  

Cost  of  bottles  

$57.72 
128.71 

$392.82 
999.55 

$342.83 
880.44 

$390.98 
886.40 

$1,184.35 
2,895.10 

\mount  paid  producer 

Total    cost  to  distributer 

$186.43 

$213.31 
1.00 
6.75 

$1,392.37 

$1,535.05 
138.26 
60.84 

$1,223.27 

$1,254.67 
195.87 
106.20 

$1,277.38 

$628.00 
314.50 
67.51 

$4,079.45 

$3,685.03 
548.63 
241.50 

Milk  receipts   retail                       .    • 

Milk  receipts  wholesale                   .  .    . 

Cream  receipts    .              .             

$220.06 

$37.59 
3.96 

$1,734.15 
$341.78 

$1,556.74 
$333.47 

$1,366.01 
$78.58 

$4,876.% 
$791.42 

Labor  loss  

MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER        9 

The  report  points  out  that  the  above  tabulation  indicates  that  most 
of  the  milk  distributers  make  only  a  very  meagre  living,  in  many  cases 
the  income  being  much  less  than  that  of  laborers  and  unskilled  mechanics. 

The  third  branch  of  this  investigation  consisted  in  a  most  unique 
experiment  to  determine  the  cost  of  distribution  under  a  single  service 
system.  It  was  assumed  that  an  ideal  delivery  system  would  consist  of 
one  truck  and  a  crew  of  men  supplying  one  section  of  the  city.  Accord- 
ingly, an  electric  truck  was  furnished  by  an  electric  vehicle  company 
having  a  capacity  of  1,000  pounds.  In  place  of  milk,  several  pigs  of  lead 
which  equalled  in  weight  a  load  of  milk  were  carried.  Besides  a  driver 
there  were  two  clerks  supplied  with  apparatus  for  accurately  measuring 
distance  and  time.  There  were  two  men  who  carried  fictitious  bottles  of 
milk  from  the  truck  into  the  homes.  Each  was  equipped  with  a  steel 
basket  similar  to  that  used  by  milkmen  containing  2  quarts  and  3  pint  milk 
bottles  filled  with  water.  Literature  relating  to  the  pure  milk  movement 
was  deposited  in  the  milk  boxes  of  each  house  in  place  of  milk,  and 
notations  made  regarding  conditions  at  the  house  which  would  equal  in 
time  the  labor  performed  by  the  present  milk  peddlers.  Each  stop  made 
by  the  truck  was  timed  with  a  stop  watch,  and  recorded.  The  distance 
travelled  was  measured  by  an  odometer,  and  confirmed  by  map  measure- 
ments. Each  operation  by  the  delivery  men  was  measured  and  recorded 
upward  of  200  time's.  Previous  to  the  experiment  a  number  of  ordinary 
milkmen  were  timed  without  their  knowledge  to  secure  an  average  of  the 
time  occupied  by  them  in  going  from  the  wagon  to  the  house  and  return 
to  it  again.  This  experiment  in  milk  delivery  was  conducted  in  the  well- 
to-do  district  and  again  in  one  of  the  crowded  sections  of  a  poor  district. 
The  results  of  this  experiment  are  recorded  in  the  table  on  next  page. 


10 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  3 
TABLE^EXPERIMENT  IN  MILK  DISTRIBUTION 


Streets. 

Baden, 
Catherine,  , 
Vienna, 
Morris,  etc. 

Barrington, 
Dartmouth, 
Westmin- 
ster Road. 
Rutgers. 

248 
202 
154 

248 
52 
23 

Total  families  visited  in  section   number     

604 

11 
593 
1.3 
785 
1.6 
1.7 

30 
78 

H.    m.     s. 
46 
200 
34    45 

1    25    15 

359 

297 
52 
3 
1,077 
2.5 
2.4 

38 
67 

H.    m.     s. 
62 
200 
40      2 
1     19    15 

Houses  having  milk  boxes  number                .  .         

Houses  having  no  millc  boxes  number                       ... 

Average  amount  milk  used  daily  in  homes  Quarts 

Total  amount  milk  used  daily  in  section  Quarts 

Total  length  streets  in  section    miles                                  . 

Distance  travelled  by  truck  in  section  miles 

Distance  travelled  by  present  peddlers  in  supplying  sec- 
tion   miles           

Stops  made  by  truck  number  

Average  time  required  to  go   from  truck  to  each  two 
houses    leave  milk    and  return  to  truck  

Total  time  of  experiment     

Total  time  truck  was  in  motion   

Total  time  truck  was  standing  still  

In  the  first,  or  well-to-do  section,  the  truck  travelled  2.4  miles  to 
supply  milk  which  the  regular  milkmen  were  supplying  in  this  territory 
by  driving  38  miles.  In  the  poorer  section,  the  experimental  truck  trav- 
elled 1.7  miles  to  make  deliveries  which  were  being  made  by  the  local 
milkmen  with  a  travel  of  30  miles  for  the  same  work. 

In  the  well-to-do  district  where  families  used  an  average  of  3  quarts 
each  it  was  estimated  that  1,077  quarts  of  milk  could  have  been  distributed 
in  2  hours,  while  in  the  poorer  district  where  the  families  used  1.3  quarts, 
it  was  estimated  that  in  2  hours  the  experimental  truck  could  deliver 
785  quarts.  These  figures  represent  the  work  of  men  physically  untrained 
for  active  work. 

As  a  result  of  the  experiment,  the  author  concluded  that  1  truck 
drawn  by  2  horses  and  manned  by  3  men  could  deliver  an  average  of 
3,200  quarts  of  milk  in  1  working  day.  As  an  example  of  the  economy 
under  this  ideal  system  compared  with  the  waste  under  the  old  system, 
the  author  quotes  a  number  of  instances  in  various  districts  of  the  city, 
among  which  is  the  following: 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


11 


TABLE  No.  4. 


UNDER   PRESENT 

SYSTEM 

UNDER  MODEL  SYSTEM 

29  men  at  $1  16  per  day 

$33.63 

3  men  at  $2.50  per  day 

$750 

34  horses  and  26  wagons, 
ance   .    . 

mainten- 
2600 

4  horses    daily  maintenance 

500 

1  truck    maintenance   ... 

25 

Total  

$59.63 

1  motor  truck    part  of  day 

200 

Superintendence 

600 

Total  

.  .  .$2075 

After  quoting  several  other  instances,  the  author  compares  the  pres- 
ent cost  of  distribution  for  the  entire  city  of  Rochester  with  the  proposed 
cost  of  distribution  under  a  model  system  of  distribution : 

TABLE  No.  5 


UNDER  PRESENT   SYSTEM 

356  men,  and  in  many  cases  their  fam- 
ilies. 

380  horses. 

305  wagons. 

2,509+  miles  travel. 

$76,600  invested  in  milk-room  equip- 
ments. 

'$108,000  invested  in  horses  and  wagons. 

$2,000  present  daily  cost  of  distribution. 

$720,000  yearly  cost  of  distribution. 


UNDER  MODEL   SYSTEM 

90  men. 

50  horses. 

25  horse-drawn  trucks. 

300  miles  travel. 

75,000  equipment  for  sanitary  plant. 

>30,750  equipment  of  horses  and  trucks. 

1600  estimated  daily  cost  of  distribution. 

5220,000  estimated  yearly  cost  of  distri- 
bution. 


and  comes  to  the  following  conclusions : 

"There  is  little  question  that  if  the  milk  supply  of  Rochester  were  to  be  dis- 
tributed by  one  agency  properly  organized  and  equipped,  a  saving  to  consumers  of 
at  least  $500,000  yearly  could  be  effected." 

In  order  to  bring  more  vividly  before  the  minds  of  the  readers  the 
enormous  waste  of  the  competitive  system  of  distribution,  the  author  ap- 
pends a  series  of  illustrations  showing  the  number  of  milk  wagons  at 
present  engaged  in  distribution  in  the  several  districts  of  the  city,  and 
makes  the  following  suggestion : 

"The  City  of  Rochester  owns  its  water  works,  collects  its  own  ashes,  operates 
an  incinerating  plant  for  the  sorting  and  disposal  of  garbage  and  controls  the  col- 
lection of  its  garbage.  All  of  these  activities  bear  an  important  relation  to  the 
public  health,  but  none  the  less  does  milk.  Why,  therefore,  should  not  cities  con- 
trol their  own  milk  supplies  to  the  end  that  the  people  may  have  pure,  wholesome 
milk  at  the  same  minimum  cost?" 


One  example  of  these  illustrations  is  given  on  the  opposite  page: 


12 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  6 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 13 

1915,  Detroit,  Mich.  (U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bulletin 
No.  639.  "The  Market  Milk  Business  of  Detroit,  Mich.,  in  1915,"  by 
C.  E.  Clement  and  C.  P.  Warbor.) 

The  data  was  collected  during  the  months  of  September  and 
October,  1915. 

The  methods  of  enquiry  consisted  of  an  examination  of  the  dealers' 
books  and  an  inspection  of  the  business. 

The  subjects  covered  included :  Statistics  of  the  supply,  cost  of  col- 
lection in  the  country,  cost  of  handling  in  country  stations,  investment  in 
the  country,  freight,  investment  in  city  plants,  investment  in  delivery 
equipment,  average  daily  sales,  cost  of  handling  in  city  plants,  cost  of 
delivery  labor,  cost  of  delivery  expense,  loss  on  surplus. 

This  report  is  most  interesting  because  of  numerous  tables  showing 
the  different  costs.  It  points  out  that  previous  to  the  adoption  bv  the 
City  of  Detroit  of  a  milk  pasteurizing  ordinance  there  were  158  retail 
dealers,  and  three  months  after  passing  of  the  ordinance  there  were  only 
68  plants  in  which  milk  was  prepared  for  distribution. 

The  chief  recommendations  are  that  country  plants  be  standardized 
in  building  and  equipment,  and  that  there  is  economy  in  the  sale  of  milk 
from  city  stores. 

1916-1917,  New  York  State.  (New  York  State  Assembly  Commit- 
tee; Senator  Chas.  W.  Wicks,  Chairman.) 

This  survey  occupied  a  period  of  about  six  months  under  an  appro- 
priation of  $25,000. 

Methods  of  enquiry  included:  Public  hearings,  at  which  witnesses 
were  examined  representing  dealers,  producers,  and  consumers;  exam- 
ination of  dealers'  books  by  expert  cost  accountants,  and  of  producers' 
accounts. 

Subjects  covered  included  especially  the  milk  supply  of  New  York 
City;  the  statistics  of  the  supply;  investment  in  the  country;  freight; 
investment  in  city  plants ;  investment  in  delivery ;  average  daily  sales ;  cost 
of  handling,  labor ;  cost  of  delivery,  other  expenses ;  loss  on  surplus ;  and 
also  a  study  of  dairy  farm  costs,  including  cost  of  labor,  cost  of  feed, 
other  farm  expense ;  and  prices  charged  consumers. 

Figures  were  obtained  from  all  of  the  larger  milk  companies  in  New 
York  City,  and  from  many  dairy  farms.  The  report  shows  that  the  in- 
crease in  cow  population  in  New  York  State  has  failed  to  keep  pace 
with  the  increase  in  human  population. 

The  Committee  concludes  that: 

"During  a  period  of  several  years  the  dairy  farmer,  laboring  industriously  and 
thriftily  as  he  might,  was  not  able  to  secure  such  reasonable  price  from  the  sale  of 
dairy  products  in  this  State  as  to  earn  a  fair  labor  and  invested  capital  return. 
The  Committee  is  constrained  to  believe  that  the  average  dairyman  is  as  thrifty  and 


14 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

efficient  in  his  chosen  pursuit  as  the  average  man  in  other  walks  of  life.  We  doubt 
if  there  is  any  group  of  men  in  any  corresponding  industry  so  well  informed  as  to 
their  craft,  so  keenly  interested  in  its  progress,  and  so  eager  for  success  as  the 
dairy  farmers  of  the  State  of  New  York." 

The  Committee's  investigations  included  dairy  farms  producing  milk 
for  the  City  of  Rochester,  and  milk  companies  distributing  milk  in  the 
City  of  Rochester. 

The  conclusions  of  this  Committee  regarding  distribution  are  ex- 
pressed as  follows: 

"UNNECESSARY  COSTS  OF  DISTRIBUTION" 

"This  business  is  conducted  on  an  extremely  competitive  basis.  *  *  *  A 
large  part  of  the  cost  arises  from  the  bitter  competition  existing  in  the  distribution 
of  the  product  *  *  *  An  army  of  solicitors  and  sales  agents  are  main- 
tained *  *  *  Overhead  charges  attributable  to  this  work  amount  to  an 
alarming  sum  *  *  *  It  is  customary  to  refer  to  the  fact  that  four  or  six 
or  ten  milk  wagons  and  milk  drivers  visit  the  same  block  *  but  this 

ignores  the  really  greater  expense  of  the  silent  army  of  retainers  *  *  *  Not 
only  do  we  find  in  single  blocks  these  wagons  and  horses,  but  on  the  same  block 
six  solicitors ;  six  route  superintendents ;  six  staffs  of  clerks  and  bookkeepers.  The 
distribution  of  milk  is  a  public  service  which,  to  be  put  upon  an  economic  basis, 
requires  public  regulation  to  the  end  that  all  unnecessary  services  even  of  a  com- 
petitive kind  may  be  eliminated." 

"DISTRIBUTION  OF  MILK  SHOULD  BE  A  REGULATED  PUBLIC 

SERVICE" 

"It  is  safe  to  assert  that  the  consumers  in  the  City  of  New  York  pay  several 
millions  of  dollars  annually  for  the  privilege  of  having  all  the  numerous  purveyors 
of  this  necessity  of  life  engage  in  attempts  to  serve  him  *  *  *  A  milk  supply 
is  as  much  a  daily  necessity  and  even  more  so  than  gas  or  electricity." 

"It  certainly  seems  as  if  the  dairymen  of  this  State  and  the  distributers  with 
their  invested  capital,  and  the  consumer,  should  co-operate  to  the  end  that  these 
unnecessary  competitive  wastes  be  eliminated  and  the  dairymen's  milk  brought  to 
the  consumer  at  the  lowest  possible  expense." 

"The  investigations  of  the  Committee  lead  to  the  conclusions  that  under  the 
present  competitive  system  it  takes  almost  as  many  men  to  bring  the  dairymen's 
milk  to  the  consumer  as  there  are  dairymen  engaged  in  the  production  of  milk  with 
all  their  employees.  This  is  the  result  of  the  purely  competitive  basis  upon  which 
the  business  is  handled.  Three  or  four  milk  stations  are  being  maintained  with  a 
separate  force  of  employees  to  collect  or  receive  the  dairymen's  milk  at  many  points 
where  one  well  equipped  station  with  a  competent  force  could  do  all  the  collecting 
at  one-fifth  the  present  expense.  This  unnecessary  duplication  of  service  follows 
with  all  its  attendant  overhead  and  capital  investment  from  the  country  milk  station 
until  the  bottle  of  milk  is  finally  deposited  at  the  consumer's  door.  A  large  part  of 
this,  in  the  judgment  of  this  Committee,  could  and  should  be  eliminated.  *  *  * 
The  only  solution  possible  is  to  limit  and  leave  only  those  in  the  field  which  the 
service  actually  requires.  This  is  just  as  obvious  in  the  case  of  milk  as  it  is  in  gas 
or  any  other  daily  necessity  supplied  in  small  quantity  to  the  consumer. 

"It  is  believed  by  the  Committee  that  a  State  Department  *  *  *  should  be 
created  to  provide  ways  and  means  *  *  *  to  consolidate  this  service,  not  only 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  IS 

in  New  York,  but  in  every  city  of  the  State,  to  the  end  that  the  expense  thereof  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum  *  *  *  The  dairymen  of  the  State,  ignoring  and  dis- 
regarding the  law  has  so  organized  as  to  protect  his  own  interests  *  *  *  Those 
who  contend  that  these  matters  had  best  be  regulated  by  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand  pay  no  heed  to  the  evident  situation  that  the  law  of  supply  and  demand 
has  absolutely  ceased  to  operate. 

"  THE  MILK  TRUST  " 

"There  is  no  milk  trust  controlling  the  purchase  and  sale  of  market  milk  in  the 
City  of  Buffalo.  There  is  none  in  Rochester;  there  is  none  in  Syracuse;  there  is 
none  in  Utica;  there  is  none  in  Albany;  nor  in  any  city  between  Albany  and  New 
York,  nor  in  any  town  or  village  of  the  State.  There  is  no  milk  trust  controlling 
the  purchase  and  sale  of  milk  in  the  City  of  New  York.  Instead  there  is  sharp  and 
bitter  competition,  so  far  as  the  records  of  this  Committee  discloses,  in  each  and 
every  one  of  the  places.  There  are  four  stations  in  many  places  where  one  could 
collect  the  milk.  There  are  four  outfits  of  station  managers  and  employees  in 
many  places  where  one  could  do  the  work.  Every  intelligent  person  who  has  ever 
discussed  the  question  concedes  that  there  are  four  horses  and  wagons,  four  or  five 
or  six  groups  of  solicitors ;  four  or  five  or  six  separate  organizations  and  overhead 
charges  duplicating  work  that  one  of  each  could  well  perform. 

"There  is  too  much  capital  already  invested  in  the  business  *  *  *  Here,  then 
is  the  waste  and  the  loss  *  *  *  Instead  of  introducing  more  expensive  com- 
petitors in  the  field  to  waste  more  money  of  the  consumer,  the  State  should  endeavor 
by  judicious  legislation,  to  permit  the  elimination  of  all  unnecessary  investments 
both  of  labor  and  capital  and  effectively  control  the  business  operations  of  the 
remainder." 

1917,  Berkeley,  Cal.  (University  of  California,  College  of  Agricul- 
ture, Circular  No.  175.  "Progress  Report  on  the  Production  and  Dis- 
tribution of  Milk,"  by  Elwood  Mead.) 

The  information  in  this  survey  was  obtained  during  the  months  of 
June  and  July,  1917. 

The  methods  of  enquiry  consisted  in  the  mailing  of  questionnaires 
to  producers  and  dealers,  and  an  inspection  of  the  dealers'  milk  factories 
and  of  dairy  farms. 

The  subjects  of  enquiry  included:  Statistics  of  the  supply  (of  the 
cities  of  San  Francisco,  Oakland,  Berkeley,  Alameda,  and  Richmond)  ; 
average  daily  sales;  losses  on  surplus;  dairy  farm  costs;  cost  of  labor, 
feed,  other  farm  expense;  prices  paid  to  farmer;  prices  charged  con- 
sumers. 

The  conclusions  of  this  survey  are : 

"(1)  The  distributers  service  at  present  is  badly  organized,  and  there  is  in 
many  cases  a  serious  waste  of  labor  and  money  which  ought  to  be  corrected; 

(2)  Duplication  of  pasteurizing  plants  in  a  needless  addition  to  distribution 
costs." 

Under  recommendation  the  report  states : 


16 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

"(1)  What  is  needed  is  comprehensive  and  expert  public  oversight  that  will 
study  the  needs  of  a  city  as  a  whole  and  co-ordinate  the  work  of  producers  and 
distributers  so  as  to  eliminate  inefficiency  and  waste,  and  insure  prices  based  on 
the  value  of  the  services  rendered ; 

(2)  What  is  needed  in  San  Francisco  Bay  cities  is  the  creation  of  some  expert 
authority  to  study  whether   the  present  location  of  our   dairying  districts   makes 
possible  the  provision  of  a  milk  supply  as  cheaply  as  it  could  be  furnished  from 
some  other  district  or  districts  where  land  is  cheaper  even  if  farther  removed. 

(3)  The  economies  of  distribution  should  be  studied,  not  to  determine  in  what 
direction  the  distributers  have  failed,  but  what  could  be  saved  by  a  carefully  planned 
distributing  system  which  would  eliminate  duplication  of  routes,  needless  pasteur- 
izing plants,  and  overhead  charges." 

1917,  New  York  City.  (Report  of  Mayor's  Committee  on  Milk; 
Dr.  Charles  E.  North,  Chairman.) 

Methods  of  enquiry  included :  Public  hearings  of  dealers,  producers, 
consumers;  examination  of  dealers'  books  by  expert  cost  accountants; 
examination  of  dairy  farm  costs  by  cost  accountants ;  questionnaires  to 
dealers,  producers  and  consumers ;  field  work  by  farm  inspectors  on  farm 
costs ;  by  city  inspectors  in  house  to  house  canvass. 

Subjects  of  enquiry  included :  Statistics  of  New  York  City  supply ; 
cost  of  freight ;  dairy  farm  costs,  including  the  cost  of  labor,  cost  of  feed, 
other  farm  expenses;  country  hauling;  prices  received  by  the  farmer; 
milk  dealers'  costs,  including  investment  in  the  country;  investment  in 
the  city;  average  daily  sales;  cost  of  handling,  labor;  cost  of  handling, 
other  expenses;  cost  of  delivery,  labor;  cost  of  delivery,  other  expenses; 
loss  on  surplus. 

The  house  to  house  canvass  covered  2,200  homes  by  250  investiga- 
tors, including  a  population  of  12,439  people,  showing  the  milk  consumed 
by  children  of  different  ages  and  by  adults. 

This  survey  included  studies  of  the  cost  of  production  on  dairy 
farms  in  all  the  states  shipping  milk  to  New  York  City,  and  on  the  city 
end  of  the  line  a  careful  study  of  the  cost  of  distribution  of  milk  in  quart 
bottles  from  retail  wagons,  of  the  sale  of  bottled  milk  from  grocery  stores 
and  milk  stores,  and  the  sale  of  wholesale  milk  in  cans.  The  investigation 
gave  much  consideration  to  the  food  value  of  milk  and  received  the  testi- 
mony of  the  leading  authorities  on  this  subject.  The  conclusions  of  this 
survey  were : 

price's1'    Milk  ^  thC  m°St  ValUablC  and  thC  °heaPeSt  °f  human  foods  even  at  Present 

2.    For  drinking  purposes  New  York  City  now  uses  only  about  700000  am 
duly     The  aty  should  use  about  2,000,000  quarts  daily  for  drfnking  in  anneal  dYet 

Is  JOStu°£I?l!Ik  Pr°ductlon  at  Present  P"ces  is  7  cents  per  quart  and    he 
prices  asked  by  the  Dairymen's  League  are  justified. 

4.     The  cost  of  distribution  as  shown  by  the  dealers'  accounts  is  justified  and 
not  large  enough  to  prevent  business  losses. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 17 

5.  The  cost  of  production  can  be  reduced  by 

(a)  eliminating  low-producing  cows. 

(b)  collective  hauling  of  milk. 

(c)  collective  buying  of  grain. 

6.  The  cost  of   distribution   can  be   reduced  by  abolishing  competition   and 
duplication  through  centralizing  the  distributing  system  into  a  single  company  or 
public  service  corporation." 

1917,  New  England.  (Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce.  "The  Milk 
Question  in  New  England,"  R.  W.  Bird,  Chairman;  Dr.  A.  C.  Gilbert, 
Secretary.) 

The  methods  of  enquiry  included  an  audit  of  the  dealers'  books  by 
expert  cost  accountants,  and  the  examination  of  dairy  farm  costs  by  farm 
inspectors. 

The  subject  of  enquiry  included:  Freight,  the  cost  of  handling,  the 
cost  of  labor,  and  factory  cost,  loss  on  surplus,  and  dairy  farm  costs,  in- 
cluding labor,  feed,  other  farm  expense ;  country  hauling,  and  a  statement 
of  prices  received  by  the  dairy  farmer. 

The  Committee's  recommendations  include: 

"1.  That  the  farmers  through  their  association  or  community  groups  establish 
their  own  delivery  system  from  the  farms  to  the  railroad  shipping  station,  and 
wherever  possible  own  their  own  receiving  stations  at  the  railroad. 

2.  The  question  of  surplus  (milk)  is  one  of  the  most  aggravating  causes  for 
the  high  price  of  milk  to  the  consumer.  The  farmer  should  study  this  condition 
carefully  and  endeavor  to  bring  his  cows  to  a  producing  state  in  a  more  uniform 
manner  than  at  the  present  time,  because  if  he  does  not  the  loss  due  to  surplus 
must  ultimately  be  borne  by  those  who  produce  it  and  not  by  the  consumers  as  at 
present." 

The  recommendations  to  milk  dealers  include  among  the  others : 

"That  early  morning  deliveries  be  discontinued  and  that  all  deliveries  be  made 
by  daylight; 

That  all  bottles  be  charged  for,  and  credited  when  returned; 
The  use  of  a  standard  blank  bottle." 

The  Committee  confesses  its  inability  to  express  an  opinion  on  the 
subject  of  co-operative  or  centralized  milk  delivery. 

1917,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Delaware.  (Report  of  the  Governor's 
Tri-State  Commission ;  Bulletin  No.  287 ;  Pennsylvania  State  Department 
of  Agriculture,  Dr.  Clyde  L.  King,  Chairman.) 

Methods  of  enquiry  included:  Public  hearings,  at  which  appeared 
witnesses  representing  dealers,  and  consumers;  questionnaires  addressed 
to  dealers  and  producers. 

The  subjects  covered  included:  Statistics  of  the  milk  supply  of 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  Baltimore,  Md. ;  the  cost  of 
handling  at  country  milk  stations;  freight:  delivery  charges,  labor;  de- 


18 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

livery  charges,  expenses ;  and  the  cost  of  milk  production  on  dairy  farms, 
including  labor,  feed,  other  expenses ;  and  country  hauling. 

The  report  gives  consideration  to  the  food  value  of  milk  and  the  sani- 
tary character  of  milk,  and  also  to  the  surplus  problem.  It  includes  many 
tables  and  diagrams  of  great  interest  to  students  of  this  subject.  Among 
the  most  important  conclusions  and  recommendations  are  the  following: 

"On  costs  of  production,  the  Committee  recommends: 

(1)  Keeping  only  high  producing  cows; 

(2)  Co-operative  methods  of  hauling  milk." 

Under  distribution  the  chief  recommendations  are  that: 

"Milk  distributive  plants  be  hereafter  regarded  as  quasi  public  businesses,  and 
subject  to  governmental  regulation; 

The  cost  per  quart  for  pasteurizing  milk,  including  the  investment  for  plant 
and  operating  costs,  decreases  with  increase  in  the  size  of  the  plant  and  in  the 
amount  of  milk  handled. 

There  are  economies  in  route  service  certainly  up  to  the  point  as  heavy  as  one 
vehicle  can  serve.  Herein  lies  the  greatest  economy  in  large  scale  service. 

There  is  much  saving  in  overhead  charges. 

The  public  is  interested  in  the  milk  distribution  business  as  a  public  utility  not 
only  because  of  the  economies  in  large  scale  distribution,  but  also  because  competi- 
tion, as  in  railways  and  other  public  utilities,  is  ruinous  if  real,  and  worthless  as  a 
price  protector  to  farmer  and  consumer  if  unreal. 

The  price  of  milk  is  as  vital,  certainly,  as  the  charges  for  common  carriers,  or 
for  electricity,  or  gas,  or  street  railways. 

The  sanitary  safety  of  milk  is  certainly  as  vital  as,  if  not  more  vital  than,  the 
sanitary  safety  of  water. 

The  price  for  milk  depends  largely  upon  the  economies  in  production  and  milk 
distribution.  Milk  is  a  food  that  is  absolutely  requisite  for  babies  and  growing 
children. 

We  have  given  careful  consideration  to  the  alternatives  to  recognizing  the 
milk  business  as  a  quasi  public  business.  Among  these  alternatives  are : 

(1)  Public  ownership  of  pasteurizing  plants  in  order  to  give  equality  of  eco- 
nomic opportunity  to  the  small  dealers ; 

(2)  Co-operative  retail  delivery  by  dairymen; 

(3)  Public  ownership  of  the  milk  distributing  plants ;  and 

(4)  Farmers'  stations  within  the  city  for  co-operative  wholesale  milk  delivery." 

The  subject  is  summarized  by  the  statement  that : 

"The  Commission  recommends  that  the  milk  distribution  business  be  regarded 
as  a  public  utility." 

1917,  Canada.  (Report  of  the  Milk  Committee  Appointed  by  the 
Food  Controller  for  Canada  to  Investigate  Milk  Supplies  for  Urban 
Municipalities;  Ottawa;  November  24,  1917.  P.  B.  Tustin,  Chairman.) 

Methods  of  enquiry  included  public  hearings  of  witnesses  represent- 
ing dealers  and  producers,  and  questionnaires  addressed  to  dealers  and 
producers. 

The  preliminary  statement  by  the  Food  Controller  says : 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  19 

"Although  any  action  taken  by  the  Food  Controller  must  necessarily  be  limited 
to  the  period  of  the  War  Measures  Act,  the  Committee's  recommendations  have  in 
view  more  than  temporary  relief  from  the  excessive  spread  between  the  prices  paid 
to  the  producer  and  the  prices  charged  to  the  consumer.  The  report  is  being  given 
widespread  circulation  in  the  hope  that  thereby  a  permanent  solution  may  be  found 
of  the  problem  of  reducing  the  high  cost  of  distributing  milk." 

The  subjects  of  enquiry  included:  The  cost  of  milk  production, 
farm  labor,  cow  feed,  and  other  expenses ;  the  use  qf  milk  in  by-products  ; 
the  food  value  of  milk;  the  spread  in  various  cities;  bottle  losses,  and 
possible  savings. 

The  report  also  contains  a  statement  of  the  experience  of  the  City 
of  Regina,  Sask.,  in  consolidating  the  milk  business. 

The  conclusions  and  recommendations  of  this  report  are,  in  brief,  as 
follows : 

"(1)  That  the  price  of  milk  paid  to  producers  generally  has  not  been  found  to 
be  exorbitant,  taking  into  consideration  all  existing  circumstances ; 

(2)  It  has  been  proved  successfully  that  milk  and  all  its  products,  including 
skim  milk,  are  the  cheapest  forms  of  animal  foods  on  the  market  today,  and  that 
the  price  of  milk  has  not  increased  to  the  same  extent  as  have  the  prices  of  other 
food. 

(3)  The  producer  received  for  his  milk  delivered  at  the  city  dairy  an  average 
price  of  from  6c  to  8c  per  quart,  while  the  retail  consumer  is  paying  from  lOc  to 
13c  per  quart     This  difference,  commonly  called  "the  distributers'  spread,"  varies, 
according  to  the  evidence  submitted,  from  2.75c  to  6.50c  per  quart. 

(4.)  That  this  excessive  "spread"  or  difference  between  the  producers'  price 
and  the  consumers'  price  is  caused  chiefly  by  the  excessive  number  of  distributers, 
and  that  it  varies  in  about  the  same  ratio  as  the  number  of  distributers. 

(5)  In  Ottawa,  where  one  dairy  handles  about  75%  of  the  milk,  the  spread 
is  only  3.25c  per  quart,  while  in  Toronto  where  there  are  about  90  distributers  it 
is  5.25c." 

The  report  estimates  possible  savings  as  follows : 

Excess  dairy  costs .25c  per  quart 

delivery  costs  .75      " 

"       bottle  loss  costs..  .125    "       " 


Total   1.125c    ' 

and  on  this  basis  an  annual  saving  of  over  $1,500,000.00  could  be  effected 
in  city  distribution  in  Canada. 

The  second  chapter  of  the  report  contains  recommendations  for  the 
reorganization  and  unification  of  the  business  of  milk  distribution.  The 
principal  recommendations  are  as  follows : 

"(1)  We  recommend  that  the  distributers'  "spread",  or  the  difference  between 
the  price  paid  for  milk  delivered  at  the  city  dairy  and  the  price  charged  to  the 
consumer,  be  fixed  on  a  basis  of  reasonable  costs  of  distribution  as  shown  by  the 
evidence  submitted." 


20 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER        

Following  the  suggestion  that  the  Dominion  be  divided  into  zones, 
the  report  states : 

"We  recommend  that  based  upon  present  conditions  the  following  maximum 
spreads  be  fixed,  and  made  effective  December  1,  1917,  subject  to  reduction  when 
conditions  warrant: 

British  Columbia 5.25c  per  quart 

Alberta  ..'. 5.25c    ' 

Saskatchewan  and  Manitoba 5.25c 

Ontario   and  Quebec S.OOc    ' 

Maritime  Provinces  S.OOc    ' 

In  Ottawa,  a  city  of  100,000  population,  75%  of  the  business  was  shown  to  be 
in  the  hands  of  one  distributing  firm,  which  operates  on  a  spread  of  3.25c  per  quart. 
This  illustrates  the  advantages  to  be  obtained  by  the  single  unit  delivery  system. 
*  *  *  The  manager  of  the  firm  stated  that  under  a  single  delivery  system,  he 
could  reduce  the  "spread"  to  3c. 

We  recommend  that  where  the  Provincial  Committee  decides  that  economic 
waste  could  be  eliminated  or  reduced  by  reorganization,  such  reorganization  should 
be  carried  out  by  three  competent  men  as  local  commissioners,  selected  by  and 
coming  under  the  approval  of  the  proper  authorities;  one  representing  producers; 
one  representing  distributers ;  one  representing  consumers.  The  local  commission 
thus  constituted  should  proceed  to  reorganize  and  consolidate  the  milk  business." 

The  following  plan  is  suggested  for  the  reorganization  and  consolidation : 

"1.     The  most  efficient  plants  and  equipment  should  be  selected; 
2.    The  property  comprised  in  the  consolidation  should  be  appraised  by  two 
valuators,  one  appointed  by  the  Food  Controller,  and  one  appointed  by  the  owner. 

The  results  of  such  proposed  reorganization  would  be: 

(1)  A  reduction  in  price  to  consumers; 

(2)  One  management,  one  bookkeeping  system,  reduction  in  overhead  charges, 
release  of  a  large  number  of  men; 

(3)  Saving  in  charges  for  supplies   in  large  quantities,  including  producers' 
supplies ; 

(4)  More  sanitary  quality  of  milk;  * 

(5)  A  great  saving  in  heavy  expenditures  for  the  prevention  of  the  spread  of 
tuberculosis  resulting  from  the  absolute  prohibition  of  the  sale  of  milk  from  cows 
that  have  not  been  tested  and  found  free  from  tuberculosis,  unless  it  was  safe- 
guarded by  pasteurization ; 

(6)  Infant  mortality  would  be  reduced; 

(7)  Typhoid  and  other  preventable  diseases  would  be  reduced; 

(8)  Inspection  and  control  of  the  milk  supply  by  municipal  authorities  greatly 
facilitated." 

1919,  New  York  State.  (Report  submitted  to  the  Legislature  of 
New  York  State  at  Albany,  April  18,  1919,  under  the  title :  "Preliminary 
Report  of  the  Council  of  Farms  and  Markets  of  its  Investigation  of  the 
Cost  of  Production  and  Distribution  of  Milk  in  New  York  State."  W.  A. 
Dana,  Chairman.) 

Methods  of  enquiry  included :  Public  hearings  of  witnesses  repre- 
senting producers  and  dealers;  examination  of  dealers'  books  by  cost 
accountants ;  questionnaires  addressed  to  producers  and  dealers. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE    CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 21 

The  subjects  of  enquiry  included :  A  study  of  the  milk  supply  of  the 
cities  of  Glens  Falls,  Syracuse,  Utica,  Binghamton,  Poughkeepsie, 
Middleton,  Watertown,  Albany,  Olean,  Batavia,  Lockwood  and  James- 
town, N.  Y.  In  some  cities  complete  information  was  obtained.  In  other 
cities,  partial  information. 

Complete  records  and  costs  of  milk  production  were  secured  from 
thirty  representative  agricultural  regions  surrounding  Syracuse,  Canton, 
Middletown,  Binghamton,  Watertown,  Utica,  Poughkeepsie;  including 
cost  of  feed,  labor,  and  other  dairy  costs. 

Statistics  of  the  cost  of  distribution  from  26  distributers  in  Utica, 
Syracuse,  Binghamton,  Batavia,  Lockport,  Watertown,  Middletown, 
Jamestown,  Poughkeepsie,  were  obtained,  including  the  cost  of  operating 
milk  plants  and  milk  delivery  systems. 

The  conclusions  and  recommendations  of  this  report,  briefly,  are 
as  follows: 

"(1)     The  Council  is  firmly  of  the  opinion    *     *     *    that  the  producers  gen- 
erally have  not  been  making  any  large  profits; 

(2)  That  in  nearly  every  city  there  are  too  many  dealers  and  that  there  is  a 
large  duplication  of  routes,  several  wagons  serving  customers  in  the  same  block; 

(3)  The  problem  of  surplus  has  also  been  an  acute  one ; 

(4)  That  the  overhead  on  account  of  an  expensive  plant  and  a  large  amount 
of  capital  is  so  great  that  no  company,  even  though  handling  practically  all  of  the 
milk  of  the  city,  could  show  a  large  profit  with  such  an  overhead; 

(5)  That  the  entire  system  of  distribution  in  the  up-State  cities  should  in  some 
way  be  made  more  efficient. 

(6)  It  has  been  advised  that    *    *    *    the  cost  of  distribution  in  Philadelphia 
has  been  reduced  to  approximately  4.5c ; 

(7)  That  in  the  City  of  Ottawa  it  has  been  reduced  to  about  3.5c; 

(8)  The  evidence  indicates  that  the  spread  of  about  5c  per  quart  between  the 
cost  of  milk  at  the  city  distributing  plant  and  the  prices  received  for  retail  milk 
would  cover  the  cost  of  bottling  and  distribution  in  these  cities  under  present  con- 
ditions. 

1919,  Spokane,  Wash.  (Report  presented  to  the  President  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  by  a  special  Committee  called  "The  Milk  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,"  dated  April  25,  1919.) 

Methods  of  enquiry  included:  Questionnaires  addressed  to  pro- 
ducers and  dealers;  field  work,  including  inspections  of  the  producers' 
and  dealers'  businesses. 

Subjects  of  enquiry  included:  Statistics  of  the  supply  of  Spokane; 
losses  on  surplus  milk;  per  capita  consumption;  food  value  of  milk;  milk 
prices  compared  with  other  food;  and  the  cost  of  production  and  of 
distribution. 

The  conclusions  and  recommendations  include  the  following: 


22 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

"We  conclude  that  the  producers  as  a  class  are  losing  money  in  their  dairy 
activities  at  the  present  time  *  *  *  that  they  have  not  as  a  class  been  making 
an  adequate  return  for  the  investment,  risk,  and  work  necessary  to  produce  milk, 
and  that  they  are  entitled  to  a  better  price  than  they  are  now  receiving  if  production 
and  the  dairy  industry  are  properly  encouraged ; 

That  we  find  many  of  the  producers  unskilled  in  the  proper  handling  of  the 
herd,  using  cows  which  have  no  place  in  the  dairy  herd,  using  unintelligent  feeding 
methods,  quite  a  few  without  any  knowledge  of  cost  accounting; 

We  conclude  that  the  consumer  has  not  a  sufficiently  full  knowledge  of  the 
value  of  milk  as  a  food  and  its  positive  necessity  especially  for  the  younger  genera- 
tions *  *  *  and  that  the  price  of  milk  has  been  increased  less  during  the  war 
period  than  any  other  food  product. 

We  conclude  that  in  the  distribution  of  milk  the  distributer  has  made  no  more 
than  a  modest  profit,  and  we  believe  the  distributers  are  not  making  any  unusual 
or  improper  profit  in  the  spread  between  the  price  they  pay  to  the  producer  and 
the  price  at  which  they  sell  to  the  consumer. 

We  find  most  of  the  large  distributers  with  side  lines  of  activity  which  we 
believe  are  profitable,  such  as  making  ice  cream  and  butter. 

If  any  relief  is  to  be  had,  it  must  be  through  the  concentration  of  agencies. 
It  occurs  to  us  that  the  overhead  cost  of  maintaining  so  many  agencies  is  the 
chief  contributing  cause  of  the  cost  to  the  ultimate  consumer. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  a  municipal  plant  be  installed  *  *  *  but  we  be- 
lieve that  this  would  not  bring  the  results  hoped  for  on  account  of  the  peculiar 
nature  of  the  business. 

Neither  de  we  believe  that  any  organization  by  the  producers  through  which 
they  will  market  their  milk  direct  will  be  successful. 

Some  members  of  your  Committee  have  believed  that  the  situation  could  be 
met  by  licensing  by  the  city  a  monopoly  in  the  hands  of  private  capital  *  *  * 
retaining  the  power  through  the  city  commissioners  of  audit,  and  control  of  prices 
and  profits,  as  well  as  of  methods  and  expenses. 

Should  such  a  monopoly  be  desired  by  the  public  (which  should  be  consulted 
before  any  definite  plan  is  adopted)  we  believe  that  in  justice  to  all  present  vested 
interests,  those  particular  distributers  who  were  forced  to  discontinue  should  not 
suffer  loss,  but  their  properties  should  be  paid  for  at  a  sound  and  solvent  price, 
either  through  the  monopoly  thus  created,  or  by  direct  tax,  as  it  would  not  seem 
fair  to  confiscate  their  properties  or  their  business  without  a  reasonable  payment. 
*  *  *  If  the  city  reserves  the  licensing  power;  the  absolute  control  of  all  milk 
and  of  milk  products  sold  in  the  city ;  the  control  of  a  proper  and  fair  profit  which 
the  monopoly  would  be  allowed  to  make ;  requires  frequent  reports  and  also  makes 
frequent  audits  of  accounting  of  such  monopoly;  we  believe  the  very  best  results 
could  be  obtained,  for  both  the  producers  and  the  consumers,  in  economy  and  in 
qualities.  The  prices  could  be  changed  as  conditions  changed. 

The  monopoly  distributer  should  be  allowed  to  make  a  stipulated  return  on  his 
investment  *  *  *  and  the  consumer  should  in  such  case  feel  that  he  was  getting 
as  much  as  his  money  should  buy  without  any  unusual  or  unfair  middle-man's  profit. 
The  objection  to  this  plan  which  seems  fatal  is  tjiat  the  public,  in  our  judg- 
ment, would  not  be  willing  to  allow  such  a  monopolistic  distributer  a  fair  profit 
for  his  investment,  energies  and  efforts,  and  would  attempt  to  confine  him  to  a  rate 
of  7%  or,  perhaps,  8%  on  his  invested  capital,  with  only  modest  salaries,  and  in 
this  way  would  destroy  the  initiative,  as  private  capital  does  not  ordinarily  like  to  go 
into  a  hazardous  business  where  the  possibilities  of  profit  are  so  limited. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  23 

If  private  capital  could  be  obtained  from  sufficiently  public  spirited  individuals 
to  be  and  remain  indifferent  as  to  profits  above  a  nominal  rate,  such  a  plan  could 
be  worked  out." 

1919,  Winnipeg,  Can.  (Report  made  to  the  Mayor  and  Common 
Council  of  the  City  of  Winnipeg,  dated  April  8,  1919,  by  L.  D.  Hughes.) 

Methods  of  enquiry:  These  were  limited  to  an  inspection  of  the 
dealers'  business  and  accounts. 

The  subjects  of  enquiry  included:  Statistics  of  the  supply;  dealers' 
investment  in  plant  and  buildings;  cost  of  handling;  cost  of  delivery; 
average  daily  sales;  loss  on  surplus;  sanitation  of  dairy  farms  and  milk 
dealers'  plants. 

The  report  recommends  that  a  commission  of  three  members  be  ap- 
pointed to  act  as  a  city  milk  commission,  one  member  to  be  elected  by  the 
producers,  one  to  be  elected  by  the  Winnipeg  Trades  and  Labor  Council, 
and  one  elected  by  the  Greater  Winnipeg  Board  of  Trade.  In  addition, 
one  member  of  the  City  Council,  and  one  member  of  the  City  Health 
Department  should  be  appointed  ex-officio  members,  and  attend  all  meet- 
ings of  the  commission.  The  duties  of  the  commission  would  be  to  ap- 
point a  manager  for  the  municipal  milk  plant,  and  to  set  the  price  of  milk 
paid  to  the  producer  and  the  price  paid  by  the  consumers  from  time  to 
time. 

The  summary  and  conclusions  of  the  report  include  the  following: 

"In  my  opinion  the  only  way  in  which  the  City  of  Winnipeg  can  enter  into 
the  retail  milk  business  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  the  city,  the  producers,  and 
consumers  of  milk,  is  to  obtain  a  monopoly  of  the  business  within  the  limits  of 
the  City  of  Winnipeg. 

"I  would  therefore  recommend  that  the  City  of  Winnipeg  purchase  the  milk 
businesses  of  the  existing  companies. 

"The  following  out  of  this  plan  would  enable  the  city  to  erect  the  most  modern 
type  of  building  on  the  continent.  The  annual  saving  effected  by  following  the 
above  plan  would  be  $230,348.00." 

The  report  then  discusses  the  suitability  of  existing  plants,  and  pre- 
sents figures  showing  the  capital  invested  by  two  of  the  largest  companies, 
and  a  tabulation  showing  present  costs  of  distribution,  and  annual  savings 
to  be  effected  by  the  monopoly,  and  also  the  estimated  cost  of  building  and 
equipping  a  new  municipal  milk  plant.  It  concludes  as  follows : 

"  *  *  *  the  milk  consumers  will  be  able  to  obtain  pure  milk  at  the  lowest 
possible  price. 

Infant  mortality  would  be  reduced.  Tuberculosis,  typhoid,  infant  diarrhoea, 
and  other  communicable  diseases  *  *  *  would  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  impetus  given  the  dairy  business  as  a  result  of  the  producers  having  a 
voic&  in  the  setting  of  prices  *  *  *  would  build  up  a  prosperous  dairy  com- 
munity surrounding  the  city. 


24  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

Inspection  by  officers  of  the  department  of  health  would  be  greatly  facilitated, 
as  all  milk  coming  to  one  plant  before  being  retailed  to  consumers  could  be  thor- 
oughly inspected." 

1919,  New  York  City.  ("A  Study  of  the  New  York  City  Milk 
Problem,"  published  by  the  National  Civic  Federation,  by  I.  G.  Jennings.) 

Methods  of  enquiry :    Questionnaires  to  dealers. 

Subjects  of  enquiry :  Prosecution  of  milk  dealers  by  New  York  City 
Department  of  Health ;  inefficiencies  of  production ;  profitable  and  non- 
profitable  cows;  volume  of  milk  produced  on  dairy  farms;  inefficiencies 
in  the  delivery  of  milk;  country  hauling;  city  retail  delivery;  sanitary 
control;  bacterial  tests;  payment  of  premiums  to  the  producer;  country 
laboratories ;  regulation  by  state  commissions ;  legal  status  of  a  state  com- 
mission ;  public  ownership  of  the  milk  industry. 

This,  report  suggests  the  appointment  of  a  state  commission  and 
municipal  ownership  of  the  milk  business,  and  submits  evidence  indicating 
that  a  state  commission  could  be  appointed  under  the  police  powers  of  the 
state  with  such  legal  powers  as  would  permit  the  licensing  and  regulation 
of  the  milk  industry,  and  the  fixing  of  prices ;  and  that  municipal  owner- 
ship also  could  be  made  legal  under  the  state  constitution.  The  greater 
part  of  the  report  is  devoted  to  a  detailed  discussion  of  legality  of  a  state 
milk  commission  and  of  municipal  ownership.  The  author  quotes  authori- 
ties and  precedents  and  apparently  establishes  satisfactory  legal  authority 
for  the  institutions  mentioned. 

1919,  New  York  State.  In  a  report  published  August  25,  1919,  en- 
titled, "Preliminary  Statement  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  by 
Governor  Smith  to  report  to  him  in  the  matter  of  the  High  Cost  of 
Living,"  signed  by  Martin  H.  Glynn,  late  Governor  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  Dr.  John  H.  Finley,  Commissioner  of  Education,  being  special 
commissioners  appointed  by  the  Governor,  the  Commissioners  devote  the 
main  body  of  the  report  to  the  milk  problem. 

They  point  out  the  numerous  investigations  which  have  been  made, 
and  say: 

"Despite  all  these  investigations,  the  price  of  milk  has  rapidly  risen  since  1916, 
and  from  present  indications  it  is  likely  to  go  still  higher  during  the  coming 
winter." 

The  report  calls  attention  to  the  variation  in  prices  in  different  cities, 
although  the  prices  paid  to  the  producers  are  approximately  the  same,  and 
especially  that  the  price  of  milk  in  Philadelphia  is  2  cents  a  quart  cheaper 
than  in  New  York  City. 

Regarding  the  importance  of  milk  to  the  community,  the  Commis- 
sioners say : 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE    CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 25 

"If  milk  were  a  mere  commodity  without  which  human  beings  might  live  in 
health  and  vigor,  the  State  of  course  would  have  little  concern  in  this  transac- 
tions, but  since  in  every  community  there  are  many  persons,  especially  children, 
mothers,  and  invalids,  for  whom  it  is  as  much  a  necessity  of  life  as  a  supply  of 
pure  water,  the  State  has  not  only  a  rightful  reason  for  enquiry  as  to  whether 
there  are  exorbitant  profits  in  its  sale,  but  a  compelling  reason  for  interfering  if 
there  are." 

Their  recommendations  include  the  following : 

"We  further  recommend  that  you  require  all  district  attorneys  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  as  you  have  already  required  the  district  attorney  of  New  York 
County,  to  give  immediate  and  most  diligent  attention  to  any  violation  of  existing 
laws  within  their  respective  districts." 

"We  are  disposed  to  put  the  emphasis  for  the  present  on  bringing  about  such 
open  co-operation  between  dealers  and  consumers  as  will  insure  a  fair  price.  To 
that  end  we  recommend,  therefore,  that  you  cause  to  be  appointed  first  of  all  in 
New  York  City  a  fair  milk  price  committee  consisting  of  nine  members:  The 
State  Commissioner  of  Health,  the  New  York  City  Commissioner  of  Health,  the 
New  York  City  Commissioner  of  Markets,  three  members  tq  be  named  by  the 
Governor  of  the  State,  three  members  to  be  named  by  the  Mayor  of  the  City  of 
New  York.  We  further  recommend  that  you  follow  this  plan  in  the  formation  of 
the  milk  committees  in  other  cities  of  the  State,  upon  the  request  of  the  local 
officials. 

"If  this  plan  should,  however,  be  found  ineffective  in.  securing  fair  prices,  we 
would  then  be  prepared  to  recommend  *  *  *  the  following  as  the  nucleus  of  a 
tentative  legislative  program  for  placing  the  distribution  of  milk  on  a  public  utility 
basis. 

"1.  That  there  be  created  a  State  Milk  Commission  to  regulate  the  milk  dis- 
tribution business  in  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class. 

2.  That  all  milk  distributers  in  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class  be  required 
to  secure  a  license  from  the  proposed  Commission,  and  such  Commission  be  author- 
ized to  refuse  a  license  to  any  distributer  who  can  not  establish  proof  that  the 
business  he  proposes  to  conduct  is  of  public  interest. 

3.  That  the  proposed  Commission  be  given  full  power  to  regulate  the  rates 
which  shall  be  charged  on  milk  for  the  service  rendered  by  the  distributing  agencies, 
and  to  limit  the  profits  of  such  agencies  to  what  it  may  deem  to  be  a  fair  and  rea- 
sonable return  on  the  investment. 

4.  That  the  proposed  Commission  be  given  full  authority  to  require  the  in- 
stallation of  uniform  cost  accounting  systems   by  all  distributing  agencies  in  first 
and  second  class  cities,  and  to  inspect  and  audit  such  accounts  at  any  time. 

5.  That  the  Commission  aid  and  assist  all  municipalities  desiring  to  establish 
municipally  owned  distribution  of  milk  and   act  as  an  advisory  board  and  be  in 
position  to  recommend  the  most  effective  method  to  be  used  in  establishing  muni- 
cipal distribution  of  milk,  including  the  acquisition  of  privately  owned  distributing 
systems. 

6.  That  all  the  muncipalities  of  the  State  be  authorized  to  acquire  and  operate 
milk  distributing  systems  within  their  boundaries  when  such  acquisition  and  opera- 
tion are  approved  by  this  Commission. 

7.  That  the  proposed  Commission  promote  co-operation  between  the  produc- 
ing and  distributing  elements  of  the  milk  industry;  that  it  make  from  time  to  time 
investigation  of  the  cost  of  producing  milk,  and  publish  for  the  information  of  the 


26 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

public  data  as  to  volume  and  cost  of  production  in  this  State ;  that  it  conduct  educa- 
tional campaigns  for  promoting  the  wider  use  of  milk  as  a  food  and  co-operate 
with  municipal  health  departments  and  other  agencies  in  making  special  studies  of 
the  needs  for  the  greater  use  of  milk  in  the  feeding  of  children. 

8.  That  the  Commission  make  special  study  of  the  problem  of  providing  milk 
at  a  minimum  cost  to  the  children  of  the  poorer  sections  of  the  larger  cities,  and 
co-operate  with   the    municipal   departments  of   health  in   providing  milk  for  the 
feeding  of  infants  at  the  lowest  possible  cost. 

9.  That  the  Commission  co-operate  with  the  New  York  City  Department  of 
Health  to  make  a  special  study  of  the  conditions  under  which  loose  milk  is  sold  in 
the  city,  and  endeavor  to  eliminate  all  possible  danger  of  contamination  of  milk 
sold  in  this  manner. 

10.  That  the  proposed  Commission  be  empowered  to  revoke  a  dealer's  license 
for  due  cause  after  public  hearing  and  after  due  notice  in  writing. 

11.  That  any  municipality  in  addition  to  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class 
may  by  formal  action  of  the  governing  body  of  the  municipality  place  themselves 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Commission." 

1919,  New  York  State.  The  Reconstruction  Commission  of  the  State 
of  New  York  was  appointed  by  Governor  Alfred  E.  Smith  on  January  21, 
1919.  It  consists  of  thirty-six  members,  representing  all  of  the  large 
cities  of  the  State  of  New  York;  these  are  divided  into  two  general  com- 
mittees, and  nine  special  committees  dealing  with  the  various  public  prob- 
lems and  readjustments  following  war  conditions. 

Among  these  is  a  Committee  on  Food  Production  and  Distribution, 
consisting  of  ten  members,  of  which  Mr.  Thomas  V.  Patterson  of  New 
York  City  is  chairman.  This  Committee  have  given  much  study  to  the 
milk  problem,  and  drawn  up  a  draft  of  recommendations  to  the  Governor 
for  state  legislation,  which  is  as  follows : 

"1.    That  the  distribution  of  milk  be  considered  a  public  utility  to  be  controlled 
and  regulated  as  such. 

2.  That  legislation  be  enacted  authorizing  the  formation  of  trade  associations 
and  consolidation  of  food  businesses,  subject  to  public  control  as  our  other  public 
utilities  of  the  State. 

3.  That  all  dealers  in  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class  be  required  to  secure 
a  license  and  that  the  regulating  authority  be  authorized  to  refuse  a  license  to  a 
dealer  who  cannot  establish  proof  that  the  business  he  proposes  is  to  be  conducted 
in  the  public  interest. 

4.  That  the  regulating  authority  have  the  power  after  a  public  hearing  and 
proper  notice  in  writing  to  revoke  a  dealer's  license  for  due  cause. 

5.  That  the  provisions  of  the  law  at  present  relating  to  licensing  in  this  in- 
dustry be  amended  to  avoid  conflict. 

6.  That  the  regulating  authority  be  given  full  power  to  regulate  the  rates 
which  shall  be  charged  in  the  sale  of  milk  for  the  service  rendered  by  the  distribut- 
ing agencies  and  to  limit  the  profits  of  such  agencies  to  what  it  may  deem  to  be  a 
fair  and  reasonable  net  return  on  the  investment. 

7.  That  the  regulating  authority  be  empowered  to  regulate  the  methods  of 
handling  all  milk  and  that  it  be  its  duty  to  recommend  whatever  measures  are 
necessary  to  accomplish  economies,  mechanical  or  otherwise. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 27 

8.  That  municipalities  be  authorized  to  acquire  and  operate  milk  distributing 
systems  within  their  boundaries  when  such  operation  is  approved  by  the  regulating 
authority. 

9.  That  the  regulating  authority  be  empowered  to  apportion  territory  for  dis- 
tribution  among  competing  companies  when  such  apportionment  would  result  in 
greater  economy. 

10.  That  municipalities  other  than  those  of  the  first  and  second  class  may,  by 
formal  action  of  the  governing  body  of  the  municipality,  place  themselves  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  regulating  authority. 

11.  That  the  regulating  authority  maintain  offices  in  each  of  the  cities  under 
its  jurisdiction  in  order  to  carry  out  its  functions  effectively." 

PLAN  AND  SCOPE  OF  THE  ROCHESTER  SURVEY 
METHODS  OF  ENQUIRY. 

These  methods  included  the  following : 

(1)  PUBLIC  HEARINGS. 

Public  hearings  of  witnesses  representing  milk  producers,  milk  con- 
sumers, and  the  investigators  employed  by  the  survey.  ("Twenty-two 
hearings  in  all  were  held,  covering  the  period  from  July  8th  to  December 
1st.)  The  stenographer's  notes  and  exhibits  were  used  as  material  in 
preparing  this  report. 

(2)  EXAMINATION  OF  BOOKS  OF  DEALERS. 

(The  accounts  of  five  of  the  largest  dealers  and  15  of  the  small 
dealers  were  examined  by  the  expert  cost  accountants  employed  by  the 
survey.  Accounts  of  only  four  of  the  large  dealers  were  sufficiently  ac- 
curate to  justify  detailed  tabulation.  All  of  the  others  were  so  incom- 
plete that  they  could  be  used  only  as  a  basis  of  estimate.) 

(3)  QUESTIONNAIRES. 

Questionnaires  were  sent  to  the  following : 

(a)  To  milk  dealers  on  hauling  and  freight. 

(b)  To  milk  dealers  on  the  volume  of  milk  purchased  and  sold. 

(c)  To  milk  dealers  on  valuation  of  properties. 

(d)  To  milk  producers  on  country  hauling. 

(e)  To  milk  dealers  of  all  large  cities  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  on 
spreads,  as  well  as  prices  and  quantity  of  milk  pasteurized. 

(f)  To  health  officers  of  all  large  cities  for  milk  statistics  and  milk  regulations. 

(g)  To  health  officers  of  all'  cities  in  New  York  State  on  prevalence  of  human 
tuberculosis. 

(h)     To  institutions  in  Rochester  on  milk  purchased  and  milk  used. 

(4)  FIELD  WORK. 

(a)  Inspection  of  milk  dealer's  business;  volume  of  business  transacted; 
volume  of  work  for  each  operation;  number  of  men  employed;  number  of  hours 
of  labor. 


28 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

(b)  Inspection  of  dairy  farms  to  determine  farm  costs;  personal  interviews 
with  producers  with  notes  on  annual  costs  of  production. 

(c)  Sanitary  inspection  of  dealers'  milk  plants  in  city. 

(d)  Sanitary  inspection  of  dairy  farms  in  the  country. 

(e)  House  to  house  canvass  in  the  city  to  determine  quantity  of  milk  used, 
and  uses  of  milk  by  consumers. 

(f)  Weighing    and    measuring    of    school    children    to    determine    under- 
nourishment. 

(g)  Inspection  of  costs  of  distribution  in  the  City  of  Ottawa,  Canada, 
(h)     Inspection  of  the  costs  of  distribution  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia, 
(i)     Inspection  of  costs  of  distribution  in  the  City  of  Baltimore. 

(j)     Inspection  of  operation  of  Price  Fixing  Commission  in  the  City  of  Detroit. 

(5)     SPECIAL  STUDIES. 

(a)  Work  performed  by  previous  milk  surveys  and  by  milk  commissions. 

(b)  Work  performed  by  the  Rochester  Health  Department  and  of  Rochester 
milk  regulations  compared  with  milk  regulations  of  other  cities. 

(c)  Infant  milk  depots. 

(d)  Undernourishment  in  school  children,  and  dispensing  of  milk,  and  school 
lunches. 


II 

SUBJECTS  OF  ENQUIRY 
The  subjects  of  enquiry  in  their  order  are  as  follows : 

1.  General  Introduction. 

(a)  Resolution  by  Common   Council  of  April  22,  1919,  authorizii 
milk  survey. 

(b)  A  survey  of  previous  milk  surveys;  their  organization,  scope,'  recom- 
mendations, and  results. 

(c)  Plan  of  present  milk  survey,  its  organization  and  scope. 

2.  Statistics  of  the  Rochester  milk  supply. 

(a)  Producers.  * 

(b)  Dealers. 

(c)  Milk  sales. 

3.  House  to  house  canvass  to  determine  milk  used  by  consumers. 

4.  Weight  and  height  of  school  children  to  determine  percentage  and 
degree  of  undernourishment. 

5.  Milk  supply  of  institutions  to  determine  per  capita  consumption. 

6.  Food  value  of  milk  for  children  and  adults;  commercial  value  and 
public  health  value  compared  with  other  foods. 

7.  Relation  of  milk  to  infant  mortality. 

8.  Cost  of  producing  Rochester  milk. 

(a)  Inspection  of  Rochester  farms. 

(b)  Cost  accounts  for  total  supply. 

(c)  "    small  producing  cows. 

(d)  "    large  producing  cows. 

(e)  "  "          "   small  herds. 

(f)  "  "          "    large  herds. 

(g)  "  "   producers  in  different  sections. 

9.  Cost  of  hauling  and  freight. 

(a)  Country  hauling  by  farmers. 

(b)  Freight  to  Rochester;  by  truck  or  wagon;  by  trolley;  by  railroad. 

(c)  Trucking  in  Rochester  to  milk  plants. 

10.  Cost  of  distribution. 

(a)  Report  on  dealers'  cost  accounts  from  books. 

(b)  Labor  costs  obtained  by  inspectors  of  plants. 

(c)  Plant  charges  obtained  by  inspectors. 

(d)  Costs  for  large  dealers. 

(e)  Costs  for  small  dealers. 

(f)  Total  cost  for  the  city. 

11.  Appraisal  of  investment  by  Rochester  milk  dealers. 

(a)  In  land. 

(b)  In  buildings. 

(c)  In  machinery. 

(d)  In  delivery  equipment. 


30  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

12.  Control  of  milk  supply  by  Rochester  Health  Department. 

(a)  Reports  of  work  performed  by  Department  of  Health  for  ten  years. 

(b)  Rochester  milk  regulations. 

(c)  Milk    regulations    of    other    cities    compared    with    regulations    of 

Rochester. 

(d)  Tuberculosis. 

13.  Sanitary  condition  of  Rochester  milk  supply. 

(a)  Report  of  sanitary  inspection  of  dairy  farms. 

(b)  "        "          "  "  milk  dealers'  city  plants. 

(c)  "        "          "  "  milk  stores. 

(d)  Report  of  bacterial  tests  on  Rochester  milk  supply. 

14.  Pasteurization. 

(a)  The  adoption  of  pasteurization  in  the  United  States  and  elsewhere. 

(b)  Attitude  of  authorities  towards  pasteurization. 

(c)  Necessity  for  pasteurization  in  Rochester. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  WORKING  FORCE 

Committee  on  Public  Safety  of  the  Common  Council. 

Director  of  public  hearings. 

Director  of  the  survey. 

Supervisor  of  dairy  farms  inspection. 

Four  dairy  farm  inspectors. 

Supervisor  of  inspection  of  city  milk  plants. 

Four  city  milk  inspectors. 

Certified  accountant  on  dealers'  cost  accounts. 

Three  assistant  cost  accountants. 

Supervisor  of  house  to  house  canvass. 

One  hundred  and  fifty  volunteer  workers  on  house  to  house  canvass. 

Supervisor  of  weighing  and  measuring  school  children. 

Twelve  public  health  nurses. 

Bacteriologist. 

Supervisor  of  statistical  tabulations. 

Two  assistant  statisticians. 

One  secretary  and  six  stenographers  and  clerks. 


Ill 

STATISTICS  OF  THE  ROCHESTER  MILK  SUPPLY 
Information  as  to  the  number  of  persons  engaged  in  the  different 
branches  of  the  milk  industry  of  Rochester,  the  volume  of  business  which 
is  transacted  daily,  and  other  general  facts  regarding  the  business  were 
obtained  from  a  number  of  sources. 

The  list  of  milk  dealers  was  obtained  from  the  Department  of  Health, 
and  also  the  number  of  dairy  farms.  From  the  dealers  themselves  figures 
were  obtained  as  to  the  number  of  quarts  of  milk  received  daily,  and  the 
number  of  quarts  sold  through  different  channels  of  trade.  The  numbers 
of  employees,  horses  and  wagons,  were  obtained  by  personal  inspection 
of  the  factories  by  inspectors  in  the  employ  of  the  survey.  According 
to  the  records  of  the  Health  Department,  there  are  745  dairy  farms  sup- 
plying the  City  of  Rochester.  .From  the  dealers'  own  statements  as  to 
the  number  of  producers  from  whom  they  purchase  milk,  the  inspectors 
obtained  the  figure  779.  The  information  obtained  from  these  sources  is 
shown  in  Table  No.  7. 

TABLE  NO.  7 
STATISTICS  OF  ROCHESTER  MILK  SUPPLY 

Total  number  of  dealers ...    136 

Quarts  received  daily 82,075 

Total  daily  sales 77,579 

Daily  sales — Bottled  milk  retail  57,305  Quarts 

"     —Bottled  milk  wholesale 11,386      " 

"     —Can  milk  wholesale 8,888      " 

M  Ik  received  by  motor  truck 24,985      " 

"   wagon    .' 3,018      " 

"    railroad   48,163      " 

"   trolley    5,909 

Number  of  proprietors 137 

Number  of  employees 299 

Number  of  wagons  207 

Number  of  automobiles 71 

Number  of  horses 

Number  of  dairy  farmers 

Quarts  of  pasteurized  milk .' . . .  44,110 

Per  cent,  of  pasteurized  milk 57% 

Number  of  dealers  handling  500  quarts  or  less 101 

Per  cent,  of  supply  handled  by  them 34.2% 

Number  of  dealers  handling  500  to  1,000  quarts 23 

Per  cent,  of  supply  handled  by  them 19.2% 

Number  of  dealers  handling  1,000  quarts  or  more 11 

Per  cent,  of  supply  handled  by  them 46.7% 

Number  of  pasteurizing  plants 24 

Number  of  dealers  producing  own  milk 16 

The  dealers  furnishing  milk  for  Rochester  may  be  divided  into  three 
groups,  according  to  the  quantity  of  milk  sold  by  them;  the  first  group 
containing  dealers  selling  less  than  500  quarts  daily ;  the  second  group  of 


32 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 


dealers  selling  from  501  to  1,000  quarts  daily;  and  the  third  group  of 
dealers  selling  over  1,000  quarts  daily.  The  number  of  dealers  in  each 
group  of  those  selling  raw  milk  and  pasteurized  milk,  and  the  quantity  of 
raw  and  pasteurized  milk  sold  by  them  is  shown  in  Table  No.  8. 

TABLE  No.  8 
RAW  MILK  AND  PASTEURIZED  MILK 


if 

3 

1 

§ 

°<fc 

g 

•8 

-    N 

SQ 

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o 

N 

*o  §" 

*o3' 

*0    N 

o  £ 

•-  § 

.S'C 

n3    y 

"oS 

*o  § 

e 

"c  ^ 

"S  3 

ft 

js 

l-s 

u  £ 

u  — 

-  § 

-M  ^ 

-S 

a3 

U  ^ 

U  "So 

§£ 

IS 

—   rt 

5 

«^ 

it2 

u,^ 

05 

& 

fc 

Q 

Q 

H 

a 

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£ 

Ph 

OH 

1 

Less  than  500... 

102 

96 

6 

27,416 

25,600 

1,816 

35.3 

76.6 

4.1 

7 

500-1  000 

23 

12 

11 

15,175 

6,745 

8,430 

19.6 

20.2 

19.1 

Over  1  000 

11 

1 

10 

34,988 

1,084 

33,914 

45.1 

3.2 

76.8 

136 

109 

27 

77,579 

33,429 

44,160 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

In  the  above  table,  one  of  the  dealers  in  group  No.  1  sells  both  raw 
and  pasteurized  milk,  and  two  of  the  dealers  do  not  own  pasteurizers,  but 
hire  their  milk  pasteurized  by  others,  therefore,  while  there  are  27  dealers 
selling  pasteurized  milk,  there  are  only  25  pasteurizing  machines  in  opera- 
tion. It  is  noteworthy  that  out  of  33,429  quarts  of  raw  milk  sold  in  the 
city,  25,600  quarts  are  sold  by  the  dealers  in  group  No.  1,  who  sell  less 
than  500  quarts  each  daily.  These  102  small  dealers  sell  76.6%  of  all  the 
raw  milk  sold.  Contrasted  with  this,  the  11  dealers  selling  over  1,000 
quarts  each  sell  only  1,084  quarts  of  raw  milk  in  all,  or  3.2%  of  the  raw 
milk  sold. 

On  the  other  hand  a  study  of  the  quantity  of  pasteurized  milk  sold 
daily  shows  that  out  of  44,160  quarts,  the  small  dealers  in  group  No.  1 
sell  only  1,816  quarts,  or  4.1%,  while  the  large  dealers  in  group  No.  3 
sell  33,914  quarts  of  pasteurized  milk,  or  76.8%.  The  dealers  in  group 
No.  2  selling  between  500  and  1,000  quarts  are  more  evenly  divided  in 
their  sales  of  raw  and  pasteurized  milk,  selling  6,745  quarts  of  raw  milk, 
and  8,430  quarts  of  pasteurized  milk  daily. 

FAMILY  QUESTIONNAIRE  AND  HOUSE  TO  HOUSE 

CANVASS 

As  one  means  for  determining  the  use  of  milk  by  milk  consumers  in 
the  City  of  Rochester,  arrangements  were  made  for  an  inquiry  by  house 
to  house  visitation  of  a  sufficient  number  of  families  to  give  a  fair  index 
of  the  uses  of  milk  in  the  home. 


MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 33 

Mrs.  Helen  Probst  Abbott,  President  of  the  Women's  City  Club, 
kindly  volunteered  to  organize  the  members  of  a  large  number  of  the 
women's  organizations  of  the  City  of  Rochester,  with  the  object  of  secur- 
ing the  services  of  voluntary  workers  who  would  carry  out  the  details  of 
this  inquiry.  In  accordance  with  this  plan,  the  members  of  the  following 
organizations  were  invited  to  meet  at  the  University  of  Rochester : 

Women's  City  Club 
Industrial  Nurses 
Council  Jewish  Women 
Sisterhood  Berith  Kodesh 
Public  Health  Nurses'  Association 
Tuberculosis  Society  of  Monroe  County 
i  Door  of  Hope 

United  Jewish  Charities 

Business  Women's  Club 

Women's  Union 

Syracuse  Alumni  Association 

Home   Service — Red  Cross 

Social  Workers'  Club 

W.  C.  T.  U. 

Temple  Beth  El  Club 

Lake  Avenue  Baptist  Women's  Society 

Scottish  Women's  Club 

Theosophical  Society 

Osteopathic  Society 

Nineteenth  Ward  Civic  Club 

J.  Y.  M.  A.  Auxiliary 

Social  Welfare  League 

Women's  Alliance,  Unitarian  Chapter 

College  Women's  Club 

Principals'  and  Superintendents'  Club 

Sisterhood  of  Beth  El 

Two  such  meetings  were  held  and  as  a  result  over  150  volunteer 
workers  were  organized.  Dr.  John  H.  Murlin,  Professor  of  Vital  Eco- 
nomics in  the  University  of  Rochester,  kindly  volunteered  to  act  as  super- 
visor of  the  investigation.  He  prepared  a  form  of  questionnaire  which 
was  printed  for  the  use  of  the  investigators  and  gave  personal  instructions 
to  each  investigator  as  to  its  use. 

The  geography  of  the  City  of  Rochester  and  the  distribution  of  its 
population  was  very  carefully  gone  over  and  the  city  was  divided  into 
districts  to  which  a  sufficient  number  of  investigators  were  assigned,  to 
include  in  the  investigation  a  proper  representation  of  every  part  of  the 
city  and  of  every  class  of  inhabitants. 

The  report  blanks,  as  fast  as  they  were  completed,  were  delivered  to 
the  office  of  Dr.  Murlin,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  office  staff  of  the 


34  _  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  _ 

Survey,  a  complete  tabulation  was  made.    The  summary  of  the  statistics 
compiled  was  as  follows  : 


Number  of  families  visited  .............................. 

Total  number  of  persons  in  families  .................... 

Children  under  1  year  .....................  242  or    3.398% 

1  to  6  years  ........................         1,614  or  22.662% 

"        7  to  16  years  .......................         1,722  or  24.179% 

Total  number  of  children  ...................        3,578  or  50.239% 

Adults  over  16  years  ........................        3,544  or  49.751% 

One  of  the  most  important  questions  in  the  inquiry  was  as  to  the 
total  family  income  per  week,  and  the  total  money  spent  for  food  and  for 
milk.  The  following  figures  were  obtained  from  this  part  of  the  inquiry  : 

INCOME  PER  WEEK  (1,095  Families) 

Family  income  (except  from  boarders  and  roomers)  ........  $31,522.28 

Income  from  boarders  and  roomers  .......................       1,414.25 


Total  income $32,936.53 

Amount  spent  weekly  for  food,  including  milk  (998  families)  $14,486.76 
Amount  spent  weekly  for  milk  (1,330  families) 1,801.71 

The  quantity  of  milk  and  dairy  products  used  daily  is  shown  in 
Table  No.  9. 

TABLE  No.  9 
MILK  USED  DAILY 

Bottled  milk   (28  quarts  donated) 1,838  quarts 

Loose  milk   73  quarts 

AMOUNTS  AND  COST  OF  OTHER  DAIRY  PRODUCTS  USED  WEEKLY 

Amount  Price  Cost 

Buttermilk  140      quarts  $  .090  $  12.59 

Skimmed  milk 524.5   quarts  .051  26.51 

Condensed  milk 1,197.75  cans  .149  178.10 

*Cream   • 192      quarts  .614  11661 

Butter 2,224      pounds 

Number  of  families  reporting  butter 1,057 

Number  of  families  reporting  oleo 59 

*2  quarts  donated. 

MILK  USED   DAILY  FOR  DRINKING 

By  children   692  quarts 

By  adults     12g  quarts 

Unclassified    240  quarts 

(Unclassified  milk  distributed  by  income  groups   added  to   milk 
used  daily  for  drinking.) 

Total   by  children 882  quarts 

Total  by  adults 178  quarts 

FAMILIES  USING  NO  MILK 

Number  of  families 38 

Number  of  adults 208 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


35 


CHILDREN  IN  FAMILIES  USING  NO  MILK 

Number  of  children  under  1  year  ......................... 

Number  of  children  1  to  6  years  .......................... 

Number  of  children  7  to  16  years  ......................... 


19 
110 
145 


One  question  in  the  inquiry  referred  to  the  race  to  which  the  families 
belonged.  In  determining  the  race,  American  born  parents  were  put  down 
as  Americans,  while  foreign  born  parents  were  put  down  as  belonging 
to  the  race  from  which  they  came.  The  results  of  this  question  are  shown 
in  the  following  tabulation  : 


NUMBER  OF  FAMILIES— 1330 


American 691 

Italian    243 

German    100 

Jewish    56 

Canadian  43 

Russian 45 

Irish    33 

English 26 

Polish  25 

Holland       17 

Scotch    .  10 


Austro-Hungarian 

French   

Greek   

Swiss    

Belgian     

Danish    

Colored    

Roumanian   ; 

Swedish   

Assyrian    

Not  reported   


10 
8 
1 
2 
1 
3 
2 
3 
1 
1 
9 


A  study  of  the  results  of  this  inquiry  presents  a  number  of  features 
worthy  of  special  notice.  The  real  object  of  the  study  was  to  ascertain 
whether  the  family  income  bore  any  relation  to  the  amount  of  milk  used 
and  to  the  milk  consumed  by  children.  As  a  first  step  toward  determining 
this,  it  is  desirable  to  note  the  relation  of  the  income  to  the  number  of 
persons  in  the  family — especially  to  the  number  of  children  in  the  family. 
The  figures  in  the  tabulation  accordingly  were  sorted  with  this  object  in 
view  and  the  results  are  shown  in  Table  No.  10. 

TABLE  No.   10 

SUMMARY  OF  FAMILY  QUESTIONNAIRE 
RELATION  OF  INCOME  TO  NUMBER  OF  PERSONS 


Income 
Per  Week. 

Number 
of  Families. 

|J 

o|| 

£fe* 

33  a 

o  oT 
fcH* 

PH 

Number  of  Persons  Per  Family. 

Children. 

c/5 
1 

</} 

1 

s 

PLH 
"rt 

£ 

r—  1 
fc 

»o 

p 

vO 
O 

o 
_o 
i^ 

3 

£ 

Under  20             .    . 

174 
237 
236 
218 
144 
86 
235 

15.9% 
21.6% 
21.6% 
19.9% 
13.1% 
7.9% 

.25 
.24 
.18 
.17 
.18 
.14 
.11 

1.46 
1.49 
1.42 
1.19 
.99 
.91 
.81 

1.51 
1.44 
1.47 
1.49 
1.15 
1.12 
.78 

3.22 
3.17 
3.07 
2.85 
2.33 
2.16 
1.70 

2.18 
2.32 
2.52 
2.92 
2.93 
3.38 
2.84 

5.41 
5.50 
5.59 

5.77 
5.26 

5.5S 
4.54 

20  to  24  

25  to  29  

30  to  39  

40  to  49  ". 

50  and  over  

Income  not  given.  . 

36 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


A  consideration  of  Table  No.  10  shows  that  the  families  having  in- 
comes under  $20.00  per  week  contain  the  largest  number  of  children  and 
that  as  the  income  increases  progressively,  the  number  of  children  per 
family  decreases  progressively,  so  that  while  families  with  incomes  under 
$20.00  per  week  had  an  average  of  3.22  children,  that  families  with  in- 
comes of  $50.00  and  over  per  week,  had  an  average  of  only  2.16.  The 
number  of  adults  in  these  families  was  smallest  in  the  families  of  small 
incomes  and  largest  in  the  families  of  large  incomes. 

One  factor  which  must  not  be  overlooked  in  considering  the  meaning 
of  these  figures  is  that  families  with  young  children  are,  as  a  rule,  families 
having  young  parents,  and  therefore  smaller  earning  power.  On  the 
other  hand,  families  of  larger  incomes  are  likely  to  be  families  having 
older  parents  and  therefore  older  children  increasing  the  number  of 
adults.  These  circumstances  would  explain  to  some  extent  the  meaning 
of  these  figures.  There  remains  however,  a  most  important  fact  in  con- 
sidering the  necessity  for  furnishing  a  sufficient  amount  of  milk  for  the 
nourishment  of  small  children  that  the  larger  number  of  small  children 
live  in  families  having  small  incomes. 

It  appears  that  the  incomes  of  some  families  must  be  expended  to  a 
large  extent  for  food  and  the  amount  spent  for  milk  must  depend  not 
only  upon  the  size  of  the  income,  but  on  the  intelligence  with  which  the 
persons  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  buying  the  food  decide  what 
portion  of  the  income  should  be  spent  for  food  and  what  portion  should 
be  spent  for  milk.  An  effort  was  made  to  learn  whether  families  with 
large  incomes  buy  a  larger  proportion  of  milk  than  they  do  of  other  foods. 
The  figures  have  been  tabulated  in  a  manner  that  exhibits  the  facts  re- 
specting this  information  in  Table  No.  11. 

TABLE  No.  11 

SUMMARY  OF   FAMILY  QUESTIONNAIRE 
RELATION  OF  INCOME  TO  FOOD  EXPENSE  AND  MILK  EXPENSE 


Income  Per  Week. 

Number  of 
Families. 

*a 
o 

„* 

"c  «-, 
a£ 
*>* 

P 
fe 

< 

3]j 

" 

"0,2 

ti 

o  8 

&* 

j* 

~3 

tu 
o 
M-l 

">x 

11 
ll 

< 

•ag 

&* 

MH     O 

OMH 

.J    fli 

gi 

u8 
feJS 

PL) 

JU 

if 
K 

•S-8 

.    W 

*J     <S> 

n 

$ 

1 

| 

< 

Under  20  
20  to  24  

$16.17 
21.58 
26.48 
32.77 
47.18 
56.08 

174 
237 
236 
218 
144 
86 
235 

$10.38 
12.81 
14.43 
15.62 
15.59 
19.97 
16.79 

64.2% 
59.4% 
54.5% 
47.7% 
33.0% 
35.6% 

$  .90 
1.12 
1.36 
.    1.46 
1.47 
1.87 
1.57 

5.6% 
5.2% 
5.1% 
4.5% 
3.1% 
3.3% 

8.7% 
8.7% 
9.4% 
9.3% 
9.4% 
9.4% 
94% 

25  to  29 

30  to  39  

40  to  49 

50  and  over 

Income  not  given  .  . 

MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


37 


Figures  in  Table  No.  11  show  that  the  families  with  smaller  incomes 
spent  a  larger  percentage  of  the  income  for  food  than  the  families  with 
larger  incomes,  and  that  families  with  small  incomes  also  spent  a  larger 
percentage  of  their  incomes  for  milk  than  families  with  larger  incomes. 
The  percentage  of  the  total  food  expense  spent  for  milk  does  not  show 
so  great  a  difference.  Families  with  incomes  under  $20.00  seem  to  spend 
a  slightly  smaller  amount  of  their  food  money  for  milk  than  families  with 
incomes  above  $20.00.  The  figures  in  the  last  column  show  this. 

The  relation  of  the  quantity  of  milk  to  the  number  of  children  in  a 
family  is  the  most  important  item  in  this  special  inquiry.  The  total  num- 
ber of  quarts  used  per  day  in  each  of  the  income  groups  and  the  quarts 
used  by  children,  are  given  in  Table  No.  12. 

TABLE  No.  12 

SUMMARY  OF  FAMILY  QUESTIONNAIRE 
RELATION  OF  INCOME  TO  AMOUNT  OF  MILK  USED 


bo 

bo 

0     ^   - 

Per  Week. 

IP! 

tjft 

•*-*  *o< 

!3d 

VtH 

QJ   ^  r=5 

Income 

3^  £ 

£  fc  o;Q 

CXI. 

§  VG  — 

O^&H 

3              O 

1 

u,    c   C 
<U    C 

k^<2 

a 

f^£ 

f 

Under  20  . 

1  03 

19 

19 

178% 

31% 

20  to  24  

122 

20 

22 

84% 

28% 

25  to  29 

1  51 

24 

27 

42% 

48% 

30  to  39 

1  S4 

26 

27 

50% 

50% 

40  to  49 

148 

24 

29% 

54% 

50  and  over   .... 

1.87 

.39 

.34 

2.4% 

69% 

Income  not  given 

1.60 

.32 

.35 

4.2% 

'     71% 

*The  amount  of  milk  required  was  calculated  from  the  standard  of  the  Associa- 
tion for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  New  York  City.  The  standard  is 
as  follows : 

Children  under  6  years One  quart 

Children  6  to  16  years One-half  quart 

Adults   '. One-third  quart 

NOTE:    Of  the  1,330  families,  88  or  6.6%  used  no  milk. 

These  families  include  5.9%  of  the  total  number  of  adults  and  7.7% 
of  the  total  number  of  children. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  the  figures  in  Table  No.  12  is  shown 
in  column  No.  3,  where  it  appears  that  in  families  with  incomes  of  less 
than  $20.00  per  week,  the  children  receive  only  .19  quarts  of  milk  per 
day  for  drinking,  while  in  families  with  larger  incomes  there  is  a  prog- 
ressive increase  in  the  quantity  of  milk  fed  to  children  and  in  families 
having  incomes  of  $50.00  a  week  and  more,  the  children  receive  .39  quarts 
pf  milk  daily,  or  just  twice  the  quantity  of  milk  received  by  children  in 
the  families  first  mentioned.  If  we  compare  the  amount  of  milk  fed  to 


38  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

the  children  in  the  families  of  each  of  the  income  groups,  with  the  amount 
of  milk  recommended  for  children  by  some  of  the  leading  food  experts, 
we  find  that  the  children  in  group  No.  1,  or  families  with  incomes  under 
$20.00,  were  receiving  only  31%  of  their  requirement.  These  percentages 
are  shown  in  the  last  column  of  Table  No.  12. 

It  appears  also  that  there  is  a  progressive  increase  in  the  percentage 
of  milk  received  in  each  income  group,  until  in  families  where  the  weekly 
income  is  $50.00,  or  over,  the  children  are  receiving  69%  of  their  milk 
requirements. 

The  conclusion  which  must  be  reached  from  these  data  is  that  in  all 
of  the  families  visited  the  children  are  receiving  less  than  their  milk  re- 
quirements and  that  the  income  of  the  family  has  a  most  close  relationship 
to  the  quantity  of  milk  purchased  and  the  quantity  used  by  children.  The 
children,  especially  in  the  families  with  small  incomes,  are  not  receiving 
the  milk  necessary  for  their  growth  and  development. 

One  of  the  methods  of  testing  the  accuracy  of  the  work  performed 
in  this  inquiry,  is  to  compare  the  amount  of  milk  used  by  the  entire  list 
of  families  with  the  amount  used  by  the  City  of  Rochester  during  the 
same  period  at  the  time  the  inquiry  was  conducted  as  follows : 

Total  population  of  families  visited 7,122 

Estimated  population  of  the  City  of  Rochester 290,000 

Percentage  of  total  population  in  the  families  visited..  2.456% 

Total  amount  of  milk  used  by  these  families 1,911  Qts.  Daily 

The  total  milk  sold  daily  in  Rochester. v 77,580  Qts. 

Percentage  of  the  Rochester  milk  supply  used  by  fam- 
ilies visited    2.463% 

Therefore  the  percentage  of  the  total  population  visited  in  this  in- 
quiry corresponds  very  closely  with  the  percentage  of  the  total  milk  supply 
used. 

These  figures  justify  the  belief  that  the  families  visited  fairly  repre- 
sent the  character  of  the  population  of  Rochester,  both  in  the  different 
age  groups  and  the  quantity  of  milk  which  is  used  by  them.  On  this 
assumption,  using  the  figures  obtained  in  this  inquiry  as  a  basis,  the  milk 
consumption  of  the  entire  City  of  Rochester  for  the  entire  population  is 
presented  in  Table  No.  14. 

TABLE  No.  13 
FIGURES    FROM   1330  FAMILIES 

.For  Other  Should 

Drinking.  Uses.  Total            Use. 

Population.      Quarts.  Quarts.  Quarts.  Quarts. 

Children— 1  to  16  years...            3,578              882  428  1310           2717 

Adults— over  16  years 3,554              178  423  601            1J81 

Total 7,112  1,060         ~851  1,911  3,898 


MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 39 

TABLE  No.  14 

ESTIMATED  AMOUNT  OF  MILK  USED  BY  CHILDREN  AND  ADULTS 
OF  ROCHESTER  COMPARED  WITH  QUANTITY  RECOM- 
MENDED  BY  FOOD   AUTHORITIES 

For  Other  Should 

Drinking.        Uses.          Total  Use. 

Population.     Quarts.       Quarts.       Quarts.       Quarts. 

Children— 1  to  16  years...        145,693          35,768          17,358          53,126        110,633 
Adults— over  16  years 144,307  7,218          17,156         24,374         48,102 


Total 290,000         42,986         34,514         77,500        158,735 

The  distribution  of  the  families  in  the  city  districts  visited  was  pur- 
posely arranged  so  as  to  give  so  far  as  possible  a  cross-section  of  the 
entire  population  of  the  City  of  Rochester.  The  fact  that  the  population 
of  the  families  visited  gave  almost  the  same  percentage  of  the  total  popula- 
tion as  the  quantity  of  milk  consumed  to  the  total  milk  supply  of  the  city 
is  a  substantial  reason  for  believing  that  the  families  visited  did  represent 
fairly  a  cross-section  of  the  city.  On  this  basis  the  age  distribution  of 
the  children  and  adults  in  the  families  visited  if  applied  to  the  entire 
city  would  indicate  that  the  population  of  the  entire  ctiy  of  Rochester 
is  divided  as  follows : 

Children  under  1  year 9,854 

Children  1  to  6  years 65,720 

Children  7  to  16  years " 70,119 

Adults  over  16  years 144,307 

Total  Population 290,000 

In  the  testimony  of  Professor  McCollum,  delivered  at  one  of  the 
hearings,  it  was  stated  that  on  the  basis  of  his  careful  experiments  as  to 
the  milk  requirements  of  animals  and  of  human  beings,  he  believed  that 
every  person,  young  and  old,  should  consume  not  less  than  one  quart  of 
milk  a  day,  or  its  equivalent.  This  would  mean  that  the  population  of 
Rochester  of  290,000  should  consume  290,000  quarts  of  milk  daily. 

If  we  use  the  figures  which  are  accepted  by  the  New  York  Associa- 
tion for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor  as  representing  the  milk 
requirements  of  children  and  adults,  children  under  6  years  would  use 
one  quart  each;  children  6  to  16,  one-half  quart,  and  adults,  one- third 
quart.  If  these  amounts  of  milk  are  applied  to  the  population  of  Roch- 
ester, as  above  indicated,  it  would  make  it  necessary  that  the  children 
from  1  to  16  years  in  Rochester  should  use  not  less  than  110,633  quarts 
daily  for  drinking  and  other  purposes,  and  the  adults  over  16  years 
should  use  not  less  than  48,102  quarts  for  drinking  and  other  purposes. 
This  would  require  a  total  milk  supply  of  158,735  quarts,  as  compared 
with  77,500  quarts  which  was  being  used  at  the  time  the  house  to  house 
canvass  was  conducted.  This  means  that  both  children  and  adults  are 
now  using  less  than  one-half  of  the  quantity  of  milk  which  is  required  for 
the  promotion  of  growth,  and  the  maintenance  of  health  and  strength. 


IV 

UNDER-NOURISHMENT  IN  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

One  of  the  most  vital  questions,  if  not  the  most  vital  question,  con- 
nected with  the  problem  of  municipal  milk  supply,  is  the  under-nourish- 
ment  of  children  of  school  age  and  under  school  age.  Wonderful  dis- 
coveries made  by  the  leading  research  workers  in  the  chemistry  of  foods 
and  nutrition,  have  shown  that  during  the  growing  period  of  children, 
milk  is  a  vital  factor.  In  other  parts  of  this  report  appears  the  testimony 
of  Professor  McCollum,  emphatically  showing  that  there  is  no  substitute 
for  milk  for  the  growing  child. 

The  highest  legal  authorities  agree  that  any  action  on  the  part  of 
municipalities  to  increase  their  legal  powers  for  the  control  over  municipal 
milk  supplies,  must  be  based,  not  on  economics  alone,  but  on  evidence 
that  the  health  of  the  people  is  being  injured  through  the  present  system 
of  milk  supply  and  distribution.  There  would  be  no  real  reason  for  the 
present  milk  agitation  in  Rochester  or  any  other  cities,  if  it  cannot  be 
demonstrated  that  public  health  is  being  injured. 

In  the  background  of  all  movements  and  investigations  connected 
with  milk  supply,  is  the  idea  that  children  are  not  receiving  all  of  the  milk 
which  they  require,  and  that  some  damage  is  being  done  to  their  health 
and  welfare  because  of  present  conditions  in  the  milk  business. 

It  is  for  the  above  reason  that  no  branch  of  the  milk  survey  of  the 
City  of  Rochester  is  of  more  importance  than  the  inquiry  into  the  rela- 
tionship between  the  milk  supply  and  the  nourishment  or  under-nourish- 
ment  of  children.  Recognizing  this,  the  directors  of  the  Survey  early  in 
the  month  of  August  undertook  to  make  arrangements  for  a  systematic 
examination  of  school  children  in  Rochester.  The  program  presented  to 
the  city  authorities  at  that  time  was  one  which  called  for  the  determina- 
tion of  the  weight  and  height  of  all  school  children  and  also  the  securing 
of  information  as  to  their  diet,  especially  with  reference  to  the  quantity 
of  milk  consumed  by  them.  These  plans  were  presented  and  approved 
by  the  Mayor  and  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Safety,  and 
the  director  of  the  Survey  was  ordered  to  proceed  with  the  investigation. 
The  co-operation  of  the  Board  of  Education  was  necessary  in  order  to 
carry  out  these  investigations  in  the  Public  Schools.  This  co-operation 
was  secured  arid  plans  perfected  for  carrying  out  this  work,  when  in- 
formation was  received  that  the  Bureau  of  Health  intended  to  perform  a 
similar  investigation  of  its  own.  In  order  to  avoid  a  duplication  of  effort 
therefore,  and  as  a  matter  of  courtesy  to  the  Bureau  of  Health,  the 
directors  of  the  Survey  sought  the  co-operation  of  the  Bureau  of  Health 
in  carrying  out  this  work.  The  Health  Officer,  Doctor  Goler,  stated  how- 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


41 


ever,  that  he  was  equipped  with  a  force  of  nurses  sufficient  only  to  secure 
information  from  11  Public  Schools.  For  this  reason  the  director  of  the 
Survey  asked  the  city  authorities  to  furnish  to  the  Health  Bureau  a  suffi- 
cient force  of  nurses  and  other  workers  to  carry  out  the  weighing  and 
measuring  of  school  children  in  all  of  the  47  Public  Schools  in  the  city. 
The  Commissioner  of  Public  Safety  consented  to  furnish  such  facilities 
and  in  accordance  with  this  plan  notified  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of 
Health  that  such  facilities  would  be  furnished.  This  offer,  however,  was 
declined,  and  as  a  consequence,  the  Bureau  of  Health  failed  to  carry  out 
this  work  in  more  than  the  11  schools  above  mentioned. 

Information  was  secured  through  the  Board  of  Education  as  to  the 
milk  consumed  by  the  children  in  all  of  the  47  Public  Schools  of  the  city. 
The  children  were  classified  into  two  classes — milk  drinkers  and  non- 
milk  drinkers.  The  report  blanks  used  included  the  following  items : 

School  Number,  Grade  Number,  Child  Number,  Age,  Sex,  Race, 
Height,  Weight,  Milk  Consumed  and  Under-nourished.  Through  the 
Superintendent  of  Schools  information  concerning  every  school  child  was 
obtained  on  all  of  the  above  subjects,  excepting  height  and  weight. 

In  the  expectation  that  complete  reports  would  be  received  from 
the  47  schools,  the  complete  tabulations- of  the  results  from  the  11  schools 
where  height  and  weight  were  also  obtained,  was  not  attempted.  For  the 
purpose  of  showing  what  results  could  be  achieved  were  this  work  com- 
pleted, there  is  presented  below  a  statement  of  a  portion  of  these  tabula- 
tions which  have  been  prepared. 

In  Table  No.  15  is  presented  the  statistics  of  the  11  schools  in  which 
the  children  were  weighed  and  measured,  showing  how  many  children  of 
each  sex  and  race  were  in  each  school  and  the  number  of  milk  drinkers 
and  non-milk  drinkers. 

TABLE  No.  15 
STATISTICS   FROM  ELEVEN   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS 


Race. 
Anglo-Saxon  

Number 
Males. 
1,499 

Number 
Females. 
1,499 

Total. 
2,998 

Per  Cent, 
of  Total 
Children. 
29.9% 

Number 
Drinking 
Milk. 
1,843 

Per  Cent. 
Drinking 
Milk. 
60.5% 

Jewish     

894 

819 

1,713 

17.1% 

1,328 

77.5% 

Latin           .    .       ..... 

2,040 

1,990 

4,030 

40.2% 

2,112 

52.4% 

Teutonic-Scandinavian  . 
Slavic 

348 
284 

310 
286 

658 
570 

6.6% 

5.7% 

360 
350 

54.7% 
61.4% 

Other  Races   

23 

33 

56 

.5% 

40 

71.4% 

Totals.., 5,088         4,937        10,025        100.0%          6,033 


60.2% 


A  detailed  statement  of  the  children  of  each  age  from  4  to  16  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race— males— drinking  milk  and  non-drinking  milk  and 
their  total  height  and  weight  and  average  height  and  weight  is  presented 
in  Table  No.  16. 


42 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  16 
ANGLO-SAXON  MALES 


MILK  DRINKERS 

NON-MILK  DRINKERS 

cJ 

8 

-Q 

.5? 

.5? 

»"•«  "^ 

bc'bc 
rt  •«•* 

bo  bo 

u 

1 
£ 

bo 
1*1 

_.i 

to  'bo 
2  'S3 

bo  "bo 

1 

fc 

H 

H 

<^ 

< 

be 

3 

H 

H 

< 

< 

4 

19 

725 

782 

38.16 

41.68 

4 

4 

145 

166 

36.25 

41.5 

5 

65 

2,693 

2,824 

41.43 

43.45 

5 

13 

515 

550 

39.62 

42.3! 

6 

115 

5,176 

5,183 

45.01 

45.07 

6 

40 

1,763 

1,789 

44.08 

44.72 

7 

121 

5,928 

5,700 

48.99 

47.11 

7 

58 

2,808 

2,718 

48.41 

46.86 

8 

87 

4,819 

4,328 

55.39 

49.75 

8 

59 

3,150 

2,927 

53.39 

49.61 

9 

116 

6,889 

6,020 

59.39 

51.90 

9 

76 

4,433 

4,029 

58.33 

53.01 

10 

95 

6,316 

5,080 

66.48 

53.47 

10 

97 

6,238 

5,136 

64.31 

52.95 

11 

86 

6,168 

4,747 

71.93 

55.20 

11 

76 

5,459 

4,186 

71.83 

55.08 

12 

60 

4,692 

3,430 

78.2 

57.17 

12 

69 

5,414 

3,973 

78.46 

57.58 

13 

53 

4,586 

3,138 

86.53 

59.21 

13 

48 

4,117 

2,835 

85.77 

59.06 

14 

39 

3,897 

2,425 

99.92 

62.18 

14 

25 

2,267 

1,505 

90.68 

60.2 

15 

19 

1,965 

1,200 

103.42 

63.16 

15 

2 

1,470 

886 

105. 

63.29 

16 

..\ 

16 

14 

213 

127 

106.5 

63.5 

In  the  above  tabulation  it  is  obvious  that  the  c/hildren  drinking  milk 
weigh  more  than  the  children  who  do  not  drink  milk.  Taking  each  age 
independently  and  inspecting  the  column  of  "Average  Weight"  shows  for 
example,  that  children  4  years  old  average  38.16  pounds,  while  the  chil- 
dren of  the  same  age  not  drinking  milk,  average  36.25  pounds.  Follow- 
ing down  these  columns  item  by  item,  shows  that  with  the  exception  of 
the  children  12  and  15  years  of  age,  the  children  of  all  other  ages  who 
drink  milk  weigh  heavier  than  the  children  who  drink  no  milk. 

These  figures  are  sufficient  to  suggest  a  relationship  between  the 
quantity  of  milk  consumed  and  the  physical  condition  of  the  children. 
The  relationship  between  physical  condition  and  mental  condition  is  so 
well  recognized,  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  state  that  the  child  who  is  healthy 
and  strong  is  also  more  vigorous  mentally. 

If  a  sufficient  number  of  statistics  could  be  compiled,  it  is  believed 
that  the  relationship  between  milk  drinking  and  a  healthy  condition  of 
the  child  would  be  even  more  striking  than  this.  The  figures  in  the  above 
tabulation,  however,  are  sufficiently  striking  to  show  that  this  method  of 
inquiry  deserves  much  greater  attention  than  it  has  received  and  that 
great  benefits  could  be  expected  not  only  for  the  public  school  children 
of  Rochester,  but  for  the  public  school  children  of  other  cities,  if  these 
children  could  be  regularly  weighed  and  measured  and  information 
secured  as  to  their  daily  diet,  especially  with  respect  to  milk  drinking. 

As  an  example  of  the  extent  to  which  some  cities  have  gone  in  this 
matter,  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  action  taken  by  the  city  of  Seattle, 
Washington,  under  the  able  direction  of  Doctor  Ira  C.  Brown,  Medical 
Inspector  of  the  Seattle  Public  Schools.  Last  year  97,000  examinations 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE    CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 43 

of  school  children  were  iriade  by  the  public  health  nurses  working  under 
his  direction.  In  the  report  published  by  Dr.  Brown,  entitled  "The  Seattle 
Way  of  Caring  for  School  Children,"  he  states : 

"My  experience  teaches  me  that  unless  a  child  get  a  good  supply  of 
milk  until  at  least  fifteen  years  of  age,  it  will  not  develop  properly. 
There  may  be  no  surface  indications  of  weakness.  But  its  system  will 
lack  that  vitality  that  only  Nature's  Food,  Milk,  can  give  and  it  will 
readily  fall  a  prey  to  diseases  that  a  milk  fed  child  will  resist  easily.  I 
am  speaking  not  only  from  my  experience  of  many  years  in  this  school 
work  but  also  as  a  father  and  now  as  a  grandfather. 

"The  city  is  organized  in  districts,  a  school  nurse  is  in  charge  of  each 
district.  The  size  of  the  district  and  the  number  of  children  under  the 
supervision  of  one  nurse,  is  carefully  arranged  so  that  each  and  every 
one  may  receive  the  requisite  attention." 

Dr.  Brown  says  further: 

"When  a  child  just  starting  to  school  has  his  first  examination  a  card  is  made 
out  for  it.  Its  physical  characteristics  are  tabulated.  If  any  operations  or  any 
forms  of  medical  treatment  are  seen  to  be  necessary  a  notation  to  this  effect  is 
made  and  notations  are  also  made  as  to  the  carrying  out  of  the  operations  or  treat- 
ment that  has  been  specified." 

"It  was  particularly  noticed  that  many  of  the  children  received  little  or  no  milk. 
The  parents  were  advised  by  the  nurses  to  give  each  of  their  growing  children  a 
pint  a  day  as  the  least  amount  sufficient  for  healthy  development.  Many  of  them 
could  not,  or  imagined  that  they  could  not,  afford  it." 

"So  Dr.  Brown  outlined  to  the  School  Board  the  proposal  of  supplying  milk 
at  school  to  those  children  who  were  known  to  need  it.  The  Board  was  sym- 
pathetic, but  Dr.  Brown's  proposal  was  a  voyage  on  an  unknown  sea.  'What  is  going 
to  be  the  cost?  Where  are  we  going  to  arrive?'  they  asked." 

"  'I  don't  know,'  replied  Dr.  Brown,  'but  I  am  sure  it  will  be  some  good  place !' " 

So  they  gave  him  authority  to  spend  up  to  $500  per  month.  Shortly 
after  they  removed  all  restrictions  and  told  him  to  "go  the  limit."  He 
has  been  "going  the  limit"  ever  since  and  the  sequel  is  to  follow. 

He  obtains  on  contract  a  supply  of  high-grade  pasteurized  milk  put 
up  in  half -pint  bottles.  All  children,  well-to-do  and  poor  alike,  obtain  it 
at  school  on  the  presentation  of  milk  checks.  The  well-to-do  buy  their 
checks.  The  children  of  the  poor  are  supplied  by  the  nurse  in  charge  of 
the  district,  who  is  familiar  with  the  conditions  in  each  home.  Thus  no 
child  is  shown  to  be  an  object  of  charity  and  exposed  to  possible  ridicule 
by  other  more  fortunate  children. 

The  business  end  of  the  daily  supply  is  handled  by  committees  of  the 
children  themselves.  The  room  committee  takes  the  order  of  each  child 
in  the  room  for  the  following  day.  It  then  phones  the  order  for  the  total 
amount  required,  to  the  Central  Office. 


44  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

Should  a  child  who  has  ordered  milk  fail  to  take  it  as  arranged, 
through  having  changed  his  mind  and  spent  his  money  for  candy  or  gum, 
or  something  else  that  appealed  to  him,  they  let  him  understand  that  an 
order  is  an  order  and  that  he  is  required  to  pay  the  following  day.  In 
this  way  the  child  receives  valuable  training  in  the  importance  of  doing 
as  he  agrees  to  do. 

The  Children's  Committee  sells  the  checks  to  those  who  buy  milk. 
They  check  up  the  amount  of  cash  received  against  the  number  of  milk- 
checks  sold;  also  the  number  of  milk  checks  received  against  the  number 
of  bottles  issued.  They  put  up  the  cash  for  deposit  with  the  bank.  They 
make  out  the  deposit  slip.  This  is  part  of  their  arithmetic  and  business 
training. 

"Within  the  first  six  months  of  supplying  milk  to  the  children  at 
school,"  says  Dr.  Brown,  "the  teachers  found  that  their  efficiency  in  the 
school  work  had  increased  two  and  a  half  per  cent.  Restlessness  and 
fidgeting  seemed  to  disappear.  Their  power  to  give  attention  was  in- 
creased. The  plan  has  now  been  in  operation  for  nearly  four  years.  At 
the  end  of  the  fourth  year,  we  intend  to  tabulate  and  publish  the  results. 
Covering  such  a  period  of  time  they  will  be  conclusive. 

"It  is  not  merely  the  children  of  the  poor  who  have  benefited.  It  is 
a  well  known  fact  that  children  of  families  in  comfortable  circumstances 
receive  far  less  milk  than  their  growing  bodies  need.  When  we  began 
supplying  the  poor  children,  the  parents  of  the  others  awoke  to  the  de- 
sirability of  their  offspring  having  milk  at  school.  It  was  to  meet  this 
demand  that  we  began  selling  the  milk  checks  to  those  who  could  afford 
to  pay. 

"From  this  starting  point  public  interest  in  milk  has  been  awakened. 
Not  only N in  the  schools  but  also  in  the  homes  has  the  per  capita  use  of 
milk  been  increased.  I  question  if  any  other  city  in  the  country  is  con- 
suming as  much  milk  per  capita  as  Seattle." 


MILK  SUPPLY  OF  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  IN  ROCHESTER 

It  is  important  to  examine  into  the  character,  quality  and  quantity 
of  milk  used  by  public  institutions.  In  such  institutions,  especially  hos- 
pitals and  asylums  for  children,  milk  is  a  most  important  article  of  diet, 
and  experience  has  shown  that  for  financial  reasons  there  is  in  most 
municipalities  a  tendency  to  economize  on  the  milk  supply  of  institutions, 
with  the  result  that  very  often  the  quantity  of  milk  purchased  is  far  too 
little  for  the  needs  of  the  inmates,  and  the  quality  is  often  so  inferior 
that  it  is  a  menace  to  their  health. 

The  replies  to  the  questionnaires  sent  out  by  the  office  of  the  Survey 
to  Rochester  public  institutions  are  summarized  in  Table  No.  17. 

TABLE  No.  17 
Total  number  of  institutions  ............  ...............  •  26 

Children  under  16  years  of  age  .........................  975 

Adults    ...............................................  4,612 

Total  inmates   ........................................  5,587 

Money  daily  spent  for  milk  ............................     $   372.27 

Money  daily  spent  for  groceries  .......................       1,760.62 

Total  expenditure  for  food  ...........................       2,129.85 

Daily  quarts  of  bottle  milk  used  ......................  *  .  350 

"       "    loose  milk  in  cans  used  ................  3,271 

"   buttermilk  used    ....  ...................  21.5 

"       "    skim  milk  used  .................  ....... 

"     cans  of  condensed  milk  used  ..................... 

"     quarts  of  cream  used  ..........  .  .................  -  39.5 

"     pounds  of  butter  used  .  .  .  \  ......................  350.7 

"     quarts  of  ice  cream  used  ........................ 

Quarts  of  milk  used  daily  for  cooking  ..................  721 

Quarts  of  milk  used  daily  by  children  on  cereals  and  for 

drinking    .................  .  ........................  6611S6       . 

Quarts  of  milk  used  daily  by  adults  on  cereals  and  for 

drinking  ..........................................  2,238.33 


Number  of  quarts  of  raw  milk  .....  ....................  r 

Number  of  quarts  of  pasteurized  milk  .................  73/ 

From  the  above  information  it  is  evident  that  975  children  consume 
daily  661%  quarts  of  milk  on  cereals  and  for  drinking  purposes,  while 
4,612  adults  consume  2,238%  quarts  in  the  same  way.  No  serious  criti- 
cism can  be  made  against  the  quantity  of  milk  furnished  to  either  the 
children  or  the  adults,  although  the  highest  authorities  now  recommend 
that  every  child  should  have  available  for  drinking  purposes  at  least  a 
quart  of  milk  daily,  or  its  equivalent. 

In  Table  No.  17,  the  money  spent  for  milk  does  not  include  one  in- 
stitution having  its  own  cows,  and  the  money  spent  for  groceries  does 
not  include  two  institutions  which  did  not  report  such  expenditures. 


46 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

The  daily  per  capita  consumption  of  milk  in  these  institutions  has 
been  determined  by  dividing  the  quantity  consumed  by  children  by  the 
number  of  children ;  the  quantity  consumed  by  adults  by  the  number  of 
adults,  for  each  institution  in  the  different  groups.  These  figures  are 
arranged  according  to  the  institutions  in  the  different  groups  and  pre- 
sented in  Table  No.  18. 

TABLE  No.  18 

DAILY  PER  CAPITA  CONSUMPTION  OF  MILK  IN  ROCHESTER 

INSTITUTIONS 

Name  of  Institution.                                               By  Children.  By  Adults.  Average. 
ORPHAN  ASYLUMS 

Rochester  Orphan  Asylum 81  qts.  .50  qts.  .87  qts. 

Jewish  Orphan  Asylum 48  .27  .63 

St.  Mary's  Orphan  Boys'  Asylum 61  . .  .49 

Jewish  Sheltering  Home 30  . .  .44 

St.   Joseph's   Orphan   Asylum 35  .50  .42 

St.  Patrick's  Orphan  Girls'  Asylum 48  .10  .53 

Dorsey    72  .20  1.00 

P.  E.  Church  Home 76  .11  .47 

HOSPITALS 

Hahnemann    .49  .60 

Rochester  General   .53  .74 

Homeopathic 93  .51  .62 

Municipal    1.50  .63  1.15 

Monroe  County  Tuberculosis  Sanitarium 1.49  .99  1.21 

Rochester  State .39  .50 

Infants'  Summer    97  .56  .88 

Monroe   County    1.00  .32  .41 

St.  Mary's  2.00  2.10  2.40 

Park  Avenue   .33  .64 

INSTITUTION,  INDUSTRIAL 

Salvation  Army 


PENAL  INSTITUTIONS 

Monroe  County  Jail   • . .  .45  .45 

Monroe  County  Penitentiary  ...  .24  .47 

Monroe  County  Almshouse . .  .18  .37 

HOMES  AND  OTHERS 

St.  John's  (German)  Home  for  Aged ..  .13  .26 

German  Students'  Home .75  .88 

Rochester  Girls'  Home 21  .33  .50 

St.  Elizabeth's  Girls'  Home 1.50  .16  .30 

St.  Ann's  Home  for  Aged .44  .50 

Rochester  Friendly  Home    .30  .60 

In  the  above  table  it  is  noteworthy  that  among  the  orphan  asylums 
two  of  them  are  providing  milk  for  children  at  the  rate  of  .30  and  35 
quarts  per  child,  while  one  institution  provides  .48  quarts  per  child. 
When  this  is  compared  with  the  recommendations  made  by  Professor 
McCollum  and  other  authorities  that  each  child  should  have  at  least  one 
quart  of  milk  a  day,  it  is  obvious  that  these  children  are  receiving  much 
less  milk  than  is  required  for  their  health.  When  this  is  compared  with 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


47 


the  quantity  of  milk  fed  to  children  in  the  Infants'  Summer  Home,  which 
is  approximately  one  quart  daily,  and  the  quantity  furnished  to  children 
in  the  hospitals,  it  is  clear  that  the  orphan  asylums  are  not  feeding  to  their 
children  nearly  sufficient  quantities  of  milk.  An  examination  of  the  milk 
fed  to  adults  shows  that  in  the  three  homes  for  the  aged,  these  old  people 
are  receiving  .13,  .30,  and  .44  quarts  of  milk  daily.  Food  experts  now 
recognize  that  old  people  should  be  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  milk, 
as  milk  is  far  more  suited  to  their  digestion  than  other  forms  of  food. 
The  quantity  of  milk  supplied  in  these  homes  for  the  aged  is  less  than  is 
necessary  to  maintain  the  health  and  strength  of  these  people. 

In  another  manner  the  milk  supply  of  these  institutions  has  been 
tabulated  by  summarizing  the  child  population,  and  the  quarts  of  milk 
used  by  children,  and  the  adult  population  and  the  quarts  of  milk  used 
by  adults.  These  summaries  are  prepared  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
how  the  character  of  the  group  of  institutions  is  related  to  the  quantity  of 
milk  used. 

TABLE  No.  19 


c 

d 

d 

*>T3    £ 

01 

d 

_C/2H_)       . 

o 

"u   v  |-1 

."ti  Q< 

o 

i-<  <y  £ 

."£  Q« 

Institution. 

3 

o*Pi 

M    %   C 

S<3  I 

5 

3 

^  ^3 

rt  S 
rj  3 

^^     C/3 

2  o 

I1U 

3  ° 

111 

1^6 

u 

Q 

u 

< 

Q 

^ 

Orphan  Asylums  (8)  
Hospitals  (5)  

763 
123 

443 
132 

.5806 
1.0731 

202 
1,086 

42 
685 

.2079 
.6307 

Old  People's  Homes  (3)  ... 
Infants'  Summer  Home  (1) 
Penal  and  other  institutions 

62 

27 

60 
27 

.9677 
1.00 

349 
50 
2,925 

118 
28 
1,365 

.3381 
.5600 
.4666 

975 

662 

4,612 

2,238 

From  Table  No.  19  it  appears  that  the  per  capita  consumption  of 
milk  for  children  in  orphan  asylums  is  by  far  the  lowest  of  the  consump- 
tion of  children  in  any  other  institutions.  Under  a  proper  system  of 
feeding,  one  would  expect  that  the  milk  consumed  by  children  in  orphan 
asylums  would  be  in  excess  of  the  quantity  of  milk  consumed  in  other  in- 
stitutions, or  at  least  its  equivalent.  On  the  other  hand,  in  old  people's 
homes  the  per  capita  consumption  for  adults  is  lower  than  the  consump- 
tion for  adults  in  either  hospitals  or  penal  institutions. 

In  the  matter  of  the  sanitation  of  their  milk  supply,  these  institu- 
tions are  open  to  serious  criticism.  There  are  only  737  quarts  of  milk 
pasteurized  while  2,884  quarts  are  raw  milk.  Nineteen  institutions  out 
of  twenty-six  have  their  supply  strictly  limited  to  raw  milk.  This  means 
that  these  institutions  are  constantly  exposed  to  the  sudden  onset  among 


48  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

their  inmates  of  an  epidemic  of  infectious  diseases,  due  to  milk  infected 
by  dairy  animals  or  dairy  employees.  The  record  of  such  institutional 
epidemics  is  a  long  one,  and  it  has  only  been  a  matter  of  good  fortune  that 
the  institutions  which  are  supplied  with  this  raw  milk  have  escaped.  The 
pasteurization  of  an  institutional  milk  supply  is  now  recognized  as  neces- 
sary to  safeguard  the  inmates  from  epidemics  of  infectious  diseases. 


VI 

THE  FOOD  VALUE  OF  MILK 

There  is  no  better  way  of  presenting  this  subject  than  to  quote 
extracts  from  the  testimony  of  Dr.  E.  V.  McCollum  who  appeared  as  a 
witness  on  behalf  of  the  Committee  at  a  public  hearing  held  in  the  City 
Hall,  Rochester,  September  18,  1919. 

Dr.  McCollum  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  food  chemists  of 
America,  and  the  chief  exponent  of  the  food  value  of  milk.  He  has  had 
a  most  unusual  training  and  experience  in  studies  in  the  chemistry  of 
nutrition  in  Yale  University,  University  of  Wisconsin,  and  in  Johns 
Hopkins  University.  At  the  present  time  he  occupies  the  position  of 
Professor  of  Chemical  Hygiene  in  Johns  Hopkins  University.  His  testi- 
mony in  part  was  as  follows : 

"At  the  time  I  left  Wisconsin  we  had  conducted  approximately  two 
thousand  feeding  experiments,  every  one  planned  with  a  theory  under 
lying,  and  every  one  planned  with  an  attempt  to  contributing  to  an  answer 
regarding  a  long  series  of  questions  of  a  technical  nature  on  nutrition. 
Those  experiments  in  no  case  were  under  perhaps  six  weeks  in  length; 
a  considerable  number  of  them  at  least  four  years  in  length ;  and  this 
work  involved  the  use  of  all  the  different  types  of  animals  that  are  avail- 
able on  an  experiment  station  farm,  together  with  such  small  animals  as 
are  usable  for  laboratory  study.  Since  going  to  Baltimore  we  have  com- 
pleted approximately  fifteen  hundred  further  experiments  with  animals, 
each  one  contributing  to  an  interpretation  of  the  technical  problems  which 
we  have  in  view. 

'The  first  observation  that  we  ever  made  that  was  of  great  import- 
ance in  perfecting  our  views  regarding  the  whole  subject  of  nutrition  was 
made  in  1912.  It  consisted  of  a  demonstration  that  it  was  possible  to 
make  a  certain  diet  which  could  be  fed  to  a  group  of  animals  and  would 
lead  to  a  failure  of  nutrition;  that  the  same  diet  fed  with  such  vegetable 
fats  as  olive  oil  or  cotton  seed  oil  or  lard  or  tallow  or  almond  oil,  would 
still  lead  to  prompt  failure  and  always  with  one  type  of  error  in  nutrition, 
or  rather  pathological  state.  That  pathological  condition  relates  to  the 
eyes.  This  particular  type  of  diet  fed  with  any  of  the  vegetable  fats  or 
body  fats  of  animals  would  lead  to  swelling  of  the  tissues  around  the  eyes 
and  inflammation  of  the  eyeball,  and  total  blindness,  and  ultimate  death. 
We  produced  blind  rats,  blind  pigs,  blind  cows,  blind  pigeons,  and  there 
is  no  question  but  what  it  applied  to  numerous  species  of  animals.  But 
curiously  enough  this  same  diet  which  was  so  serious  when  fed  with  vege- 
table fats,  became  nutritious  for  an  animal  when  we  introduced  certain 
other  fats  instead  of  the  vegetable  fats  or  body  fats  of  animals ;  when  we 
put  butter  fat  or  egg  yolk  fat  into  this  diet  and  made  no  other  change,  no 


50  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

change  in  the  methods  of  handling  animals,  we  never  saw  this  eye  trouble 
develop.  We  found  even  after  the  eyes  could  no  longer  be  opened,  we 
could  change  the  diet  in  connection  with  butter  fats  and  with  vegetable 
fats,  and  if  the  animals  were  not  too  far  gone,  the  introducion  of  milk 
fats  or  egg  yolk  fats  into  the  diet  would  cause  a  progressive  reaction  and 
recovery,  and  frequently  a  complete  recovery.  It  is  possible  even  after 
the  eyes  are  so  far  deteriorated  as  to  cause  permanent  blindness  to  cure 
this  condition  by  introducing  butter  fat  or  egg  yolk  fat  into  the  diet.  This 
observation  that  I  mention  was  first  published  in  1913,  in  June;  and  in 
1913,  in  November,  Dr.  Osborne  and  Dr.  Mendel  of  Yale  published 
essentially  the  same  type  of  diet,  extending  the  work  somewhat  by  saying 
cod  liver  oil  would  relieve  his  pathological  state  in  just  the  same  way 
that  butter  fat  or  egg  yolk  fat  did. 

"There  are  three  types  of  diets  which  have  succeeded  both  for  ani- 
mals and  for  men.  The  first  of  these  is  the  type  of  diet  which  is  entirely 
derived  from  animal  tissues.  This  is  used  by  such  animals  as  the  lion, 
the  tiger;  and  such  men  as  the  Eskimo  or  the  carniverous  Indian  of  the 
plains  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  the  days  when  the  buffalo  fur- 
nished his  sole  food  supply.  Now,  that  does  not  mean  that  simply  meat 
eating  is  satisfactory.  The  Eskimo  succeeds  in  living  a  fairly  long  period  ; 
they  rarely  reach  a  great  age;  never  live  a  great  age  in  terms  of  great 
age  of  ours.  He  rarely  lives  60  years,  and  he  is  an  inefficient  individual. 
He  succeeds,  as  we  know  from  animal  experimentation,  because  of 
prodigal  habits  in  the  choice  of  food.  The  Eskimo,  I  know  from  the  testi- 
mony of  a  number  of  people,  selects  as  the  most  appetizing  portion  of  the 
animal  that  he  may  kill  for  food,  the  blood.  If  he  kills  a  reindeer,  he 
consumes  his  blood  first  of  all.  The  American  Indian  on  the  Western 
plains  did  the  same  thing,  killing  buffalo ;  they  liked  warm,  fresh  blood. 
The  lion  and  tiger  do  the  same  thing.  The  second  choice  of  food  in  the 
carniverous  animal  is  always  one  of  the  organs,  such  as  the  liver  pr  the 
kidney  or  its  nervous  tissue.  They  will  open  the  brain  cavity  or  body 
cavity  and  eat  those  organs  second  after  the  blood.  The  third  choice  of 
the  carniverous  animal  is  the  bone  marrow  or  soft  ends  of  the  bone,  the 
same  as  man.  The  last  choice  of  the  carniverous  animal  is  the  muscle 
tissue.  That  is  the  one  which  we  in  temperate  regions  living  on  both 
an  animal  and  vegetable  diet,  select  as  the  most  appetizing  cuts  of  meat, 
such  as  round  steak,  porterhouse  steak,  and  roasts,  and  we  do  not  like 
the  highly  flavored  glandular  organs  like  the  kidney  stew  every  day  or 
the  liver  and  bacon.  This  is  a  type  of  diet  which  succeeds  in  a  measure. 
Carniverous  man  like  the  carniverous  animal,  is  lethargic  after  eating. 
He  disturbs  himself  only  when  he  is  hungry.  Dr.  Grenfall  in  his  book 
on  Labrador  says,  the  Whites  will  catch  ten  fish  to  the  Eskimo's  one. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  51 

The  carniverous  animal  when  fed  on  this  diet  is  indifferent  and  relatively 
harmless  unless  put  on  the  defensive.  The  same  is  true  of  the  carniverous 
man.  That  is  not  a  type  of  diet  which  succeeds  from  a  standpoint  of 
success  as  we  regard  it  in  civilized  communities. 

"Now,  there  is  a  second  type  of  diet  which  succeeds  with  animals 
and  with  men  up  to  a  certain  point.  I  refer  to  a  type  of  diet  common 
in  parts  of  India,  in  Southern  China  and  Japan,  the  Philippine  Islands 
and  in  tropical  countries  generally;  that  is,  the  diet  derived  from  vege- 
table products  and  meat.  These  people  eat  the  cereal  grains,  beans  and 
other  seeds,  and  to  some  extent  peas.  They  eat  tubers,  more  or  less 
fruit,  and  they  eat  meat,  either  fish  or  animal  flesh,  and  they  eat  extraordi- 
narily liberally  of  the  leafy  portion  of  plants.  Now,  animal  experimenta- 
tion in  our  laboratory  first  revealed  the  fact  that  this  diet,  cereals,  tubers, 
roots,  together  with  muscle  tissue  of  animals,  the  type  that  the  carniver- 
ous creature  and  human  being  selects  as  his  meat ;  this  type  of  diet  fails, 
but  when  supplemented  with  leafy  food  it  succeeds  up  to  a  certain  point 
with  animals  that  can  make  a  steady  diet  of  cereals,  tubers,  roots  and 
muscle  tissue.  But  we  cannot  get  success  if  he  leaves  out  leaves. 

"The  leaf  is  so  constituted  with  respect  to  quality  of  its  proteins  and 
mineral  content  and  this  substance  which  differentiates  cod  liver  oil  from 
vegetable  fats,  that  the  leaf  supplements  the  tuber  and  edible  root  and 
muscle  tissue  of  animals.  But  those  people,  the  people,  for  example, 
from  Southern  China,  the  Chinese  who  run  laundries  in  this  country,  I 
think  you  will  all  agree  with  me  that  they  are  in  general  a  small  people ; 
very  spare  and  rather  small.  They  are  inclined  to  be  somewhat  anaemic, 
yet  fairly  normal  individuals  as  Chinamen  would  ordinarily  go.  It  is  a 
common  practice,  however,  throughout  China,  according  to  information 
I  have  gained  from  a  number  of  sources,  for  the  Chinese  men  to  want  to 
retire  from  active  business  at  fifty  years,  and  they  do,  when  it  is  possible. 
They  quit  work  at  fifty  years  and  sit  and  smoke  the  rest  of  their  days, 
the  son  or  sons  supporting  the  father.  Now,  that  type  of  people,  the  na- 
tives of  the  tropics  and  of  the  Orient,  while  they  exercise  a  certain 
amount  of  ingenuity  in  certain  lines,  they  claim  to  have  first  invented 
gun  powder,  and  have  invented  puzzles  and  games  that  have  come  down 
to  our  time — but  they  have  not  contributed,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able 
to  learn,  to  any  new  invention,  or  attained  any  standard  in  mental  activi- 
ties as  have  other  peoples.  Of  course,  we  must  accept  this  judgment  on 
them  with  a  certain  amount  of  appreciation  of  the  relation  of  other  fac- 
tors of  progress  that  they  bear;  the  type  of  religion  that  people  adopt 
will  determine  in  a  great  measure  certain  habits  of  life  and  thought,  and 
that  probably  their  food  habits  have  something  to  do  with  their  lack  of 
enterprise  and  aggressiveness,  and  their  high  infant  mortality.  These  are 


52  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


related  to  the  type  of  diet  in  some  degree  because  the  fundamental  basis 
of  enterprise,  aggressiveness,  achievement,  is  physiological  well  being.  I 
will  not  dilate  any  further  on  that  subject  because  part  of  it  would  be 
conclusions  which  we  would  necessarily  base  on  very  skimpy  evidence. 
We  must  make  a  very  thorough  study  of  this  problem  before  we  draw 
positive  conclusions  on  this. 

"Now,  there  is  a  third  type  of  diet  which  succeeds  with  animals  and 
men ;  that  is,  the  diet  which  is  derived  from  cereals,  from  tubers,  edible 
roots,  meat,  more  or  less  leaves  and  more  or  less  dairy  products,  and  that 
is  the  best  type  of  diet  we  know  of.  When  we  maintain  one  series  of 
groups  of  experimental  animals  on  carniverous  diet,  and  another  series 
in  which  a  leaf  enters  partly  as  diet;  another  diet  in  which  milk  and  its 
products  enter  freely;  and  diets  which  are  comparable  in  every  respect, 
but  which  contain  none  of  those  three  things ;  by  observing  those  animals 
throughout  their  span  of  life,  we  find  the  diets  are  faulty  when  they  fail 
to  contain  either  leaf  or  milk,  unless  strongly  of  carniverous  origin. 

"When  we  observe  our  animals  throughout  their  span  of  life,  we  find 
that  faulty  diets  lead  to  a  failure  to  grow  and  reach  adult  size ;  to  failure 
in  reproduction,  to  high  mortality  and  early  death.  By  introducing  such 
foods  as  leaves  and  milk,  (foods  which  I  came  to  designate  about  a  year 
and  a  half  ago,  talking  to  the  American  Economic  Association  at  Atlantic 
City,  as  corrective  foods,  because  they  correct  whatever  else  we  are  liable 
to  eat  because  they  consist  of  the  essentials),  whenever  we  introduce  an 
abundance  of  milk  or  leaf,  we  cure  or  correct  the  diet  of  these  animals  ; 
prolong  their  life ;  increase  their  size  and  their  capacity  for  reproduction  ; 
reduce  their  infant  mortality ;  and  prolong  the  period  of  vigor  and  main- 
tenance of  youthful  characteristics.  All  these  things  correlate  well  with 
our  study  of  human  experience. 

"May  I  say  at  this  point  that  there  are  three  substances  which  we 
have  not  yet  discovered,  the  chemical  nature  of  which  we  do  not  know, 
which  are  occasionally  absent  from  the  diet  of  men  to  an  extent  that  leads 
to  the  production  of  three  deficiency  diseases.  Most  important  of  these 
is  a  disease  known  as  beri-beri.  It  is  common  among  Orientals — in  China. 
India,  in  the  Philippines;  very  common  on  the  East  Coast  of  South 
America,  and  parts  of  Brazil.  They  have  it  now  in  Labrador  and  New- 
foundland. It  is  a  deficiency  disease  due  to  a  lack  of  a-  practically  un- 
known substance  which  is  lacking  from  certain  diets.  The  chief  char- 
acteristic of  this  condition  is  a  general  paralysis.  The  people  in  Labrador 
live  essentially  on  a  white  bread  diet  and  fish,  and  very  little  else — a 
certain  amount  of  meat  perhaps.  The  people  of  Newfoundland  live  on  a 
diet  of  bread  and  fish  and  salt  meat  and  a  little  raisin  duff,  month  after 
month.  They  develop  this  condition  of  paralysis  and  go  to  the  hospital 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER        & 

to  be  fed  up  on  lime,  and  pretty  soon  are  out  in  apparently  a  normal  con- 
dition because  they  go  to  the  hospital  in  the  early  stages  of  the  disease. 
This  condition  has  taken  a  toll  of  tens  of  thousands  of  lives  throughout 
China,  the  Philippines,  and  several  tropical  parts  of  the  world,  and  a  few 
other  places. 

"The  eye  disease  which  I  first  described  as  being  due  to  a  lack  of 
something  such  as  butter  fat  supplies,  I  know  of  at  least  fifteen  hundred 
cases  of  it,  chiefly  among  children  who  use  a  cereal  diet  too  largely  and 
have  developed  this  swelling  of  the  tissues  around  the  eyes.  Many  went 
blind ;  others  were  cured  through  the  very  keen  observation  of  a  physician 
named  Morey  who  had  the  acuteness  of  observation  to  discover  that  if  he 
gave  these  children  a  sufficient  amount  of  chicken  livers,  their  eyes  would 
get  well.  I  have  already  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  fats  from  the  inside 
of  the  cells  of  liver  or  of  the  kidney  of  an  animal  contain  this  unknown 
something  which  butter  fat  supplies.  Over  in  Denmark  a  physician 
named  Spuck,  near  Copenhagen,  reported  he  met  with  about  sixty  chil- 
dren in  the  rural  districts  who  had  this  eye  trouble.  He  said  that  these 
were  the  children  of  milk  producers ;  that  there  being  such  a  good  market 
for  butter  and  cream  they  passed  the  milk  through  a  centrifugal  sepa- 
rator and  sold  the  cream,  and  fed  the  babies  on  skim  milk  and  before  long 
they  developed  this  eye  trouble.  He  supposed  that  this  was  a  fat  defi- 
ciency disorder.  We  now  know  he  was  wrong  in  one  respect ;  that  you 
could  give  a  child  all  the  skim  milk  and  the  olive  oil  and  cotton  seed 
•oil  or  vegetable  oils  that  you  could  get,  but  you  would  not  relieve  that 
eye  trouble,  but  if  you  give  him  whole  milk,  (and  he  did  do  that),  the 
eyes  come  right  back  to  normal. 

" Apparently  this  disease  is  fairly  common  in  various  parts  of  Egypt 
and  Southern  China.  I  rely  in  making  this  statement  on  the  opinion  of 
Dr.  Heiser  of  the  International  Health  Bureau,  who  expressed  this  view 
after  examining  some  animals  in  New  York.  This  disease  had  been  pro- 
duced experimentally  in  my  laboratory ;  he  thought  it  was  the  same  thing 
he  had  seen  many  times  in  Egypt  and  Southern  China. 

"I  was  very  much  interested  about  two  weeks  ago  to  receive  a  letter 
from  a  physician  who  was  in  Atlantic  City,  stating  that  very  recently 
near  Warsaw  in  Poland,  his  attention  had  been  attracted  by  about  thirty 
children  sitting  on  a  little  hummock  and  whose  movements  were  peculiar, 
and  led  to  the  arresting  of  his  attention.  He  went  over  and  examined 
them  and  discovered  through  his  examination  and  information  obtained 
from  others,  that  these  children  were  either  blind  or  nearly  blind,  and  they 
regarded  it  there  as  starvation  blindness,  which  is  apparently  another  in- 
stance. He  said,  This  is  fairly  widespread  in  certain  parts  of  Poland.' 
There  are  other  instances  of  the  occurrence  in  this  country  of  this  par- 
ticular deficiency  disease. 


54 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

"And  there  is  another  type  of  deficiency  disease,  i.  e.,  scurvy;  a  dis- 
ease long  known  among  sailors,  among  British  soldiers  in  Mesopotamia, 
and  it  has  occurred  among  men  fed  on  certain  food  where  the  diet  con- 
sists week  after  week  of  essentially  non-perishable  foods  like  white  flour, 
rolled  oats,  rice,  peas,  beans  and  potatoes,  a  certain  amount  of  meat,  and 
foods  cooked  before  they  are  fed.  A  patient  feels  chilly  and  the  teeth 
become  more  or  less  loose;  the  flesh  of  the  body  loses  its  peculiar  prop- 
erties and  you  can  punch  a  great  hole  in  the  thigh  with  your  finger  and 
the  depression  does  not  disappear  promptly;  the  individual  suffers  con- 
siderable pain.  I  will  not  attempt  to  detail  a  description  of  the  disease ; 
but  it  is  a  very  serious  disease ;  it  is  occurring  now  more  or  less  frequently 
among  individuals. 

"Those  are  the  deficiency  diseases.  I  mention  these  things  to  im- 
press upon  you  the  fact  that  as  we  examine  human  problems  in  nutrition 
in  the  light  of  a  great  deal  of  exact  data  obtained  by  a  very  careful  plan 
of  nutritive  experiments  on  animals,  we  find  that  groups  of  human  beings 
in  various  parts  of  the  world  are  actually  failing  in  nutrition  from  one 
cause  or  another,  and  we  know  now  specifically  the  nature  of  the 
deficiencies  in  their  diet  and  specifically  the  results  of  those  errors  in  their 
nutrition. 

"There  seems  to  be  a  close  relationship  between  the  general  health 
of  fairly  large  groups  of  people  and  minor  errors  in  the  diet.  We  do 
not  have  to  have  a  diet  so  deficient  as  to  lead  to  prompt  failure,  or  to 
lead  to  a  development  of  a  specific  deficiency  disease  which  brings  the 
individual  into  the  hospital,  or  he  dies,  or  attracts  the  attention  of  his 
friends  to  the  point  where  he  receives  medical  attention.  We  do  not  have 
to  restrict  our  interpretation  of  faulty  diet  to  faults  of  these  magnitudes  ; 
we  are  in  a  position,  I  feel  confident  to  say  definitely,  that  there  are 
large  groups  of  people  who  are  deriving  their  diet  largely  from  meat  of 
a  muscle  tissue,  a  type  of  wheat  flour  in  the  form  of  bread  and  other 
articles,  from  potatoes,  and  from  other  cereals,  such  as  rolled  oats,  rice, 
together  with  beans  and  peas ;  there  are  many  people  who  make  at  least 
90  or  95%  of  their  table  diet  from  cereals,  tubers,  and  edible  roots  and 
meat.  Such  diet  in  our  experience  with  animals  is  never  satisfactory 
Such  a  diet  derived  from  cereals,  tubers,  roots  and  meat  may  lead  to 
growth  over  a  considerable  period,  but  our  experimental  animals  always 
fail  to  reach  a  full  adult  size  when  they  stop  growing.  Their  capacity  for 
reproduction  may  be  fairly  good,  but  the  mortality  of  their  young  is 
always  high ;  and  the  adults  themselves  instead  of  living  the  full  normal 
span  of  life  which  the  species  is  capable  of,  show  signs  of  old  age  early 
and  have  the  specific  signs  characteristic  of  senility,  poor  condition, 
feebleness,  nervousness,  and  irritability,  and  a  gradual  decrease  in  body. 


MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  55 

Those  are  the  characteristics  of  animals  in  the  second  half  of  life,  or  even 
much  earlier,  where  they  are  fed  on  diets  affording  wide  variety  and 
which  might  fill  the  need  of  a  dozen  years  ago,  but  not  properly  dieted. 

"We  find  on  examining  the  diets  of  mankind  that  there  are  large 
groups  of  specially  employed  people  in  cities  who  are  purchasing  almost 
all  of  their  food  supply  from  a  grocery  store  or  meat  market;  and  our 
system  of  food  distribution  has  led  to  the  development  of  certain  lines 
pi  food  products  which  can  be  handled  with  little  hazard  by  the  grocer. 
Those  are  the  cereal  products;  wheat  flour,  rolled  oats,  rice,  corn  prod- 
ucts ;  various  kinds  of  canned  goods ;  tubers  such  as  potatoes,  sweet  pota- 
toes, and  meat.  These  things  are  the  staple  articles  of  diet.  That  class 
of  foods  in  no  combinations  has  ever  succeeded  with  experimental  ani- 
mals beyond  simply  bringing  them  up  to  partial  completion  of  growth, 
and  faulty  performance  of  the  functions  of  adult  life;  low  reproductive 
ability;  high  infant  mortality. 

"This  same  kind  of  diet  supplemented  with  an  abundance  of  green 
vegetables  makes  a  diet  sufficiently  complete  to  make  the  type  of  human 
beings  we  see  among  the  Chinese,  the  Japanese,  and  the  Philippines.  Dr. 
Reiser  told  me  that  in  his  experience  a  full  grown,  middle  aged  Philip- 
pine who  had  grown  up  on  a  Philippine  diet,  a  diet  of  meat,  vegetables, 
cereals,  grain  and  fish,  would,  when  he  went  into  the  Government  em- 
ploy and  was  fed  up  according  to  European  standards,  the  average  adult 
Philippine  would  gain  about  30  pounds  in  weight.  These  are  undersized 
people,  not  because  they  do  not  have  enough  to  eat,  but  because  it  is  not 
properly  selected.  Their  diet  is  capable  of  bringing  up  to  adult  life,  but 
not  capable  of  promoting  physiological  well  being  to  the  extent  which 
is  reached  in  the  United  States. 

"We  find  on  examination  of  the  situation  through  visiting  nurses 
and  city  health  authorities,  certainly  in  Baltimore,  that  large  groups  of 
employed  people  who  derive  so  large  a  portion  of  their  diet  from  meat, 
cereals  and  tubers,  are  the  ones  who  furnish  the  very  high  mortality  every 
year  from  tuberculosis.  Here  again  human  observation  correlates  very 
nicely  with  the  observation  on  animals.  When  we  feed  animals  on  a 
faulty  diet,  we  find  they  may  come  up  for  a  time  and  look  fairly 'vigor- 
ous and  normal  up  to  the  point  where  they  cease  to  grow,  a  little  under- 
sized ;  they  fail  at  an  early  date ;  by  the  time  they  reach  the  age  of  half 
way  through  what  the  species  is  capable  of,  they  will  begin  to  go  down 
hill;  they  do  not  simply  die  of  malnutrition,  but  at  a  certain  point  in 
lowered  vitality  they  are  susceptible  to  infection  of  one  kind  or  another; 
some  die  of  tuberculosis  and  some  of  pneumonia;  some  infectious  dis- 
ease usually  takes  them  off.  That  is  what  happens  in  the  course  of  famine 
conditions  in  the  world.  In  the  first  place,  when  the  population  passes 


56  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

from  a  condition  of  well  being  and  abundant  food  supply,  passes  towards 
famine  conditions,  the  milk  supply  fails;  the  supply  of  green  vegetables 
soon  fails  because  the  population  is  restricted  more  and  more  to  those 
things  that  can  be  preserved  over  long  periods.  In  cities,  the  diet  of  milk 
and  vegetables  runs  down  more  or  less  rapidly  and  later  there  is  an  actual 
shortage  of  food.  At  a  certain  point  in  the  lowered  vitality  of  the  com- 
munity, people  do  not  die  of  starvation,  but  an  epidemic  of  one  form  or 
another  arises  and  takes  off  hundreds  of  thousands  or  tens  of  thousands, 
according  to  the  extent  of  the  famine. 

"Q.     In  the  experimental  work  you  are  doing  in  Baltimore  at  the 
present  time  you  are  using  rats? 

A.  We  use  rats  almost  altogether ;  we  use  more  or  less  guinea  pigs, 
and  we  have  had  farm  pigs  and  cats,  and  recently  prairie  dogs  for  special 
experiment. 

Q.  About  how  many  of  these  animals  are  you  feeding  at  the  present 
time? 

A.     We  have  about  1,500  at  the  present  time. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  if  these  animals  are  fed  from  their  in- 
fancy on  such  things  as  beef  steak,  potatoes  and  bread  that  they  will  not 
grow? 

A.  They  will  grow  for  a  time  but  they  will  never  reach  the  full 
adult  size;  will  always  be  somewhat  stunted,  and  their  inferiority  we 
judge  by  their  low  reproductive  capacity,  in  the  high  infant  mortality 
and  in  the  short  span  of  life  or  early  appearance  of  signs  of  old  age. 

Q.  When  you  say  that  if  you  add  green  leaves  to  their  diet  it  seems 
to  improve  their  condition,  what  kind  of  green  leaves  do  you  mean? 

A.  We  have  experimented  with  such  leaves,  especially  with  such 
leaves  as  are  of  interest  from  the  standpoint  of  human  nutrition.  The 
list  of  leaves  that  we  work  with  includes  spinach,  cabbage,  cauliflower, 
brussels  sprouts,  turnip  tops,  beet  tops,  etc.  We  also  work  very  consid- 
erably with  alfalfa  leaves  and  clover  leaves. 

Q.  If  they  could  eat  a  sufficient  quantity  of  green  leaves  do  you 
think  that  would  put  them  in  proper  condition? 

A.  Yes,  they  would  succeed  in  nutrition  as  does  the  cow,  the  horse. 
"the  sheep  or  goat;  but  the  digestive  tract  of  the  rat  is  not  sufficiently 
capacious  to  enable  him  to  eat  of  this  bulky  type  of  food.  Green  leaves 
in  sufficient  amount  would  entirely  correct  the  faults  which  will  Other- 
wise exist  in  this  type  of  diet. 

Q.  Is  the  human  digestive  tract  so  arranged  that  they  can  eat  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  green  leaves  to  keep  them  in  good  condition? 

A.  Yes,  up  to  the  standard  which  we  observe  in  certain  Orientals 
and  tropical  people ;  they  fall  short  in  general  in  the  span  of  life,  and  in 


MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  57 

figure,  and  capacity  to  rear  their  young,  as  compared  with  Europeans 
and  Americans,  except  that  we  use  much  less  of  the  leafy  foods  and 
much  more  dairy  products. 

Q.  Your  belief  then  is  that  the  dairy  products  contain  this  vital 
substance  to  promote  growth  to  a  larger  extent  than  the  green  leaves ? 

A.  Our  conclusions  are  that  the  use  of  milk  as  a  food  to  correct 
the  short  comings  of  all  other  things  that  are  commonly  used  as  food  is 
a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance  to  our  welfare  and  that  is  a  factor 
of  great  importance  in , determining  the  standard  of  public  health.  The 
cow  consumes  relatively  enormous  amounts  of  leafy  foods  in  the  form 
of  hays  and  silage  and  the  rest  of  her  diet  is  a  grain  diet  of  by-products 
in  the  milling  industry;  the  peculiar  qualities  of  her  milk  are  due  to  the 
fact  that  she  herself  absorbs  so  much  of  the  products  derived  from  the 
leafy  portion  of  her  food. 

Q.  You  feel  that  the  cow's  digestive  organs  are  so  arranged  that 
she  can  consume  a  sufficient  quantity  of  these  green  leaves  to  keep  her- 
self in  a  normally  healthy  condition? 

A.     There  is  no  question  about  that. 

Q.     What  do  you  call  these  substances? 

A.  I  have  tabulated  in  my  note-books  about  twenty-five  different 
names  that  have  been  given  to  these  three  different  substances.  The  first 
name  that  appeared  and  the  one  which  is  still  most  popular,  is  the  term 
'Vitamine/ 

Q.     How  do  you  spell  that  ? 

A.  V-i-t-a-m-i-n-e-s.  They  have  been  termed  'Acessory  Food  Sub- 
stances/ I  gave  two  of  them  a  name,  designation  letters  of  the  alphabet, 
differentiated  on  the  basis  of  their  solubility;  one,  Tat  Soluble  A/  and 
two,  'Water  Soluble  B.'  Now,  at  that  time  that  was  all  there  were.  Later 
on  it  became  necessary  to  modify  that  to  designate  one  that  protects 
against  scurvy  that  is  recently  denominated  as  'Water  Soluble  C/ 

Q.     Which  one  of  these  promotes  growth  in  the  individual  ? 

A.  He  must  have  all  three  of  them  present  in  order  for  growth  and 
health  to  be  maintained. 

Q.  Now,  is  it  your  idea  from  these  experiments  that  human  beings 
will  do  better  if  they  consume  the  correct  amount  of  butter  fat  and  of 
milk  than  they  will  if  they  try  to  maintain  their  lives  on  green  leaves? 

A.  I  have  been,  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  milk  is  a  better  food 
for  the  correction  of  the  faults  in  cereal  and  meat  diet  than  are  the  leaves, 
largely  because  of  the  concentrated  character  of  the  food. 

Q.  You  think  that  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world  then  owe  their 
development  to  the  use  of  dairy  products? 


58 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

A.  I  am  inclined  to  hold  that  belief;  one  cannot  establish  at  the 
present  time  such  a  view,  but  there  is  considerable  evidence  that  that  is 
the  case.  I  can  give  you  a  few  examples  perhaps  which  will  illustrate 
why  I  believe  that.  About  the  tenth  to  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  cen- 
turies there  was  a  great  invasion  of  Europe  as  far  as  the  Danube  and  of 
China  by  the  Mongol  hordes  of  Central  Asia.  Now,  the  Chinese  are  a 
people  who  do  not  or  did  not  use  dairy  products ;  they  used  as  their  sole 
protective  food,  as  their  principal  protective  food,  leaves  to  cure  the  de- 
ficiencies of  their  diet;  they  had  used  eggs  in  considerable  amount,  but 
they  did  not  use  dairy  products.  I  have  mentioned  the  fact  that  these 
people  have  not  progressed  in  science,  literature  and  art  to  the  extent 
that  certain  other  people  have,  but  they  have  furthermore  been  overrun 
by  hordes  from  the  North  and  Northwest,  rapidly  succeeding  invasions 
from  the  North  and  West  throughout  the  period  of  history,  and  the  peo- 
ple who  have  overrun  China  so  many  times  are  the  Mongol  hordes  of 
Central  Asia  who  are  keepers  of  flocks  and  herds  and  whose  principal 
article  of  diet  is  sour  milk.  They  have  overrun  and  been  a  thorn  in  the 
side  of  Russia  up  to  within  the  last  five  or  six  hundred  years ;  they  over- 
ran the  country  as  far  West  as  the  Danube  in  the  thirteenth  and  four- 
teenth centuries. 

The  ancestors  of  the  Turks  were  successful  in  war,  extending  their 
conquest  westward,  and  lived  on  a  diet  of  fruit  and  sour  milk.  The  Arab 
living  in  a  hot  climate,  in  a  climate  whose  daily  temperature  at  noon  fre- 
quently rises  far  beyond  100  degrees,  lives  largely  on  sour  milk.  They 
have  camels'  and  goats'  milk  to  some  extent  and  to  some  extent  cows' 
milk.  Those  people  live  largely  on  sour  milk  and  on  such  a  diet  they  not 
only  live  in  the  Torrid  Zone,  but  they  have  energy,  endurance  and  courage 
to  traverse  the  weary  caravan  trails  of  the  desert  under  a  burning  sun. 
The  people  of  Europe  and  America  have  been  great  users  of  dairy  prod- 
ucts, and  they  and  the  very  few  other  people  in  places  where  new  coun- 
tries have  been  settled  by  descendants  of  Europeans  have  reached  the 
highest  stage  of  civilization;  have  cultivated  the  best  system  of  religion 
that  we  know  of ;  have  advanced  furthest  'in  scientific  attainments,  in 
literature  and  art  and  music  and  all  lines  of  achievement  of  the  human 
intellect.  I  believe  these  statements  can  scarcely  be  successfully  con- 
troverted, and  if  there  is  anything  wrong  with  them,  I  have  been  unable 
to  learn  it. 

Q.  Well,  do  you  believe  that  after  an  adult  has  attained  full  growth 
that  it  makes  any  difference  from  that  time  on  whether  the  diet  includes 
dairy  products  or  not  ? 

A.  It  certainly  does  in  the  case  of  all  types  of  experimental  animals 
of  the  omniverous  type  with  a  limited  capacity  of  digestive  tract  with 
which  to  work. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  59 

Q.  What  do  you  find  happens  to  them  after  they  have  attained  their 
full  growth  if  deprived  of  dairy  products? 

A.  What  happens  to  the  animal  is  the  early  onset  of  old  age.  There 
are  certain  diseases  which  are  commonly  grouped  together  as  old  age 
diseases ;  those  are,  hardening  of  the  arteries,  or  arterial  sclerosis ;  defects 
of  the  heart;  kidney  degeneration;  and  the  development  of  cancers  or 
tumors.  These  four  types  of  pathological  conditions  are  characteristic 
and  have  been  right  along,  of  people  advanced  in  life.  Cancer  occasion- 
ally occurs  in  a  weak  person,  and  tumors,  but  almost  always  in  persons 
who  are  past  middle  life;  the  same  is  true  of  Bright's  disease  and 
diabetes.  As  a  rule,  but  by  no  means  always,  they  are  characteristic,  they 
occur  in  persons  who  are  somewhat  advanced  in  years,  middle  life  or 
after.  Hardening  of  the  arteries,  heart  defects,  are  characteristic  of  old 
age. 

Data  accumulated  by  various  insurance  companies  show  that  while 
say,  60  years  was  the  age  at  which  there  was  the  greatest  number  of 
instances  of  these  old  age  diseases,  thirty  years  ago,  they  have  been  in- 
vading the  earlier  years  of  life  with  each  succeeding  decade,  so  that  now 
many  people  of  forty  are  developing  typical  old  age  conditions  where 
formerly  they  developed  them  much  later  in  life. 

We  are  all  familiar  with  the  fact,  we  see  every  day  people  on  the 
street  who  are  actually  only  30  or  40  years  old,  or  50,  who  look  much 
older  than  certain  other  people  who  we  know  are  actually  in  years  much 
more  advanced.  What  is  this  early  aging  due  to?  We  cannot  dispose 
of  a  question  of  this  magnitude  at  the  present  time.  We  have  a  great 
deal  of  knowledge  of  nutrition,  technical  knowledge  of  nutrition,  based 
on  animal  experimentation,  and  correlated  with  other  of  human  experi- 
ence to  a  certain  degree,  but  we  are  still  in  the  progressive  stage  in  this. 

But  we  have  an  immense  amount  of  actual  observations  on  the  entire 
span  of  life  of  experimental  animals  which  shows  that  early  breakdown 
and  development  of  the  symptoms  of  old  age  at  a  period  of  one-third  or 
a  quarter  of  the  normal  span  of  life  of  which  that  species  is  capable  is 
brought  on  by  faulty  diet.  How  far  does  this  apply  to  human  problems  ? 
Statistical  studies  have  shown  how  many  people  are  trying  to  live  on  a 
diet,  rolled  oats  and  meat  and  tuber  or  root  diet,  which  is  unsatisfactory 
for  experimental  animals.  Are  we  to  assume  so  far  as  data  have  been 
collected  and  the  results  of  animal  experimentation  correlate  very  well 
with  human  experience  that  it  does  not  correlate  in  the  field  where  we 
can  still  gain  considerable  knowledge  ?  I  think  not. 

It  is  that  group  particularly  who  are  industrially  employed,  whose 
earnings  are  fairly  low,  who  confine  themselves  to  this  cereal  and  meat 
and  tuber  type  of  diet,  that  go  down  with  tuberculosis  and  with  other 


50  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

diseases  at  an  early  age  and  show  signs  of  early  age;  early  as  the  statis- 
tics of  insurance  companies  just  mentioned,  show.  All  these  correlate 
so  well  with  animal  experimentation,  that  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  since 
we  know  that  large  groups  of  people  are  living  on  that  diet,  that  the 
early  ageing  we  have  observed  is  in  a  great  measure  the  result  of  'a  faulty 
diet.  I  believe  this  so  strongly  that  I  have  been  giving  a  considerable 
amount  of  attention  to  urging  the  public  to  use  more  of  those  foods 
which  in  our  experience  with  animals  improve  the  diet  and  well  being 
of  the  animal  and  prolong  the  period  of  youthful  vigor  and  postpone 
the  onset  of  old  age. 

Q.  By  that  you  mean  that  in  your  opinion  the  use  of  milk  and  dairy 
products  would  postpone  the  onset  of  old  age? 

A.     I  think  there  is  but  little  question  that  that  is  true. 

Q.  In  the  case  of  infants  and  the  children  after  weaning,  we  will 
say  after  the  age  of  two  years ;  do  you  consider  that  the  growth  of  that 
child  will  be  retarded  if  it  does  not  use  a  sufficient  quantity  of  milk? 

A.  There  is  no  question  in  my  mind  that  that  is  true.  I  make  that 
statement  on  the  basis  of  a  very  considerable  number  of  observations  of 
children  in  Baltimore.  . 

Q.     Will  you  state  what  those  observations  were? 

A.  In  one  series  of  observations  I  examined  the  children  in  a  cer- 
tain orphan  home  in  Baltimore.  These  children  are  fed  almost  entirely 
on  a  cereal  and  meat  diet.  They  are  surprisingly  undersized ;  tuberculosis 
is  astonishingly  prevalent  in  that  institution,  although  the  hygienic  condi- 
tions are  everything  that  could  be  desired ;  the  building  is  relatively  new, 
a  lot  of  air;  it  has  the  best  toilet  facilities  and  surrounded  by  acres  of 
playgrounds  with  woods  on  it,  and  the  children  run  out  doors  and  play 
when  they  are  very  small.  Some  months  ago  I  secured  by  private  gift, 
funds  for  the  feeding  of  these  children  so  far  as  these  funds  would  go, 
and  unfortunately,  they  did  not  reach  throughout  the  institution.  But  I 
have  selected  about  one-half  of  the  children  between  four  and  five  years 
of  age  and  have  been  giving  them  for  about  five  months  now,  a  liberal 
amount  of  milk  in  addition  to  the  cereal  and  meat  diet  which  the  institu- 
tion itself  regularly  feeds  them,  and  that  is  the  same  as  fed  to  the  rest 
of  the  children  in  that  institution,  that  is,  with  cereal  and  meat  diet.  And 
we  have  kept  accurate  measurements  of  weight  and  height,  of  certain  sim- 
ple strength  tests,  the  muscles  of  the  arms  and  legs  of  a  similar  group  of 
about  forty  which  the  institution  has  continued  to  feed.  These  two 
groups  contrast  in  the  most  remarkable  fashion;  those  which  we  fed  a 
liberal  amount  of  milk  in  addition  to  what  the  institution  was  feeding 
have  responded  in  nearly  all  cases  except  in  three  or  four  where  the 
children  are  badly  infected  with  tuberculosis.  Their  response  and  gain 
in  weight  was  unbelievable  unless  you  could  see  the  tables. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  61 

On  the  other  hand,  there  was  scarcely  any  growth  in  any  of  the  forty, 
or  forty-one  to  be  exact,  of  the  children  still  fed  on  the  cereal  and  meat 
diet  by  the  institution.  Only  three  or  four  children  have  made  any  ap- 
preciable gains,  and  those  apparently  have  made  their  gains  because  the 
parents  frequently  visited  them  bringing  them  some  food.  It  is  a  form 
of  demonstration  which  has  been  of  great  value  to  me  in  convincing  me 
that  the  general  theory  which  I  have  set  before  you  is  correct.  I  have 
also  a  large  number  of  observations  on  children  in, a  certain  Jewish  school 
in  Baltimore  which  shows  50  per  cent,  of  them  to  be  25  or  30  per  cent, 
under  weight  for  their  age  and  height. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  evidence  that  undernourishment  is  of  com- 
mon occurrence  in  children  who  are  not  properly  fed  on  milk? 

A.  There  has  been  a  general  awakening  in  several  cities  during  the 
last  few  years  in  the  matter  of  the  interest  of  child  welfare  and  conserva- 
tion of  child  life.  This  is  not  only  true  in  America,  but  the  world  over, 
as  is  shown  by  the  activities  of  the  Red  Cross  in  various  places  in  trying 
to  rescue  child  life  from  its  dangers.  There  have  been  medical  examina- 
tions in  various  cities  of  all  the  school  children,  or  a  large  number  of 
them,  and  I  have  in  mind  particularly  New  York.  I  cannot  state  exactly 
now  the  per  cent,  of  undernourishment  in  the  total  number  examined. 
If  I  remember  correctly,  there  were  approximately  seventy-five  thousand 
school  children  examined  a  year  or  so  ago,  and  I  believe  there  were  21 
per  cent,  undernourished.  There  have  been  made  very  extensive  observa- 
tions of  children  in  Seattle,  Washington,  not  only  with  respect  to  under- 
nutrition,  but  especially  the  condition  of  the  teeth  of  children,  which  is  a 
very  good  index  of  the  physical  development  of  the  child. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  is  a  desirable  thing  that  there  should  be  a  sys- 
tematic effort  to  weigh  and  measure  school  children  ? 

A.  The  measurement,  or  I  think  the  weight  and  the  accurate  record- 
ing of  those  observations,  together  with  such  other  medical  observations 
as  it  may  be  possible  to  make  on  all  school  children  in  every  city  and 
hamlet  of  this  l^nd,  is  one  of  the  most  important  duties  of  the  govern- 
ment. It  should  be  the  attitude  of  local  authorities  to  carry  that  out  in 
every  instance.  We  have  no  moral  right  to  allow  children  to  grow  up 
on  faulty  diets  which  make  it  impossible  for  them  to  develop  as  well  as 
their  capabilities  make  possible. 

Q.  You  think  that  such  a  systematic  weighing  and  measuring 
would  be  a  great  help  in  revealing  the  presence  of  under-nourishment  ? 

A.  There  is  no  question  about  that,  and  interest  in  this  matter  is 
now  manifest  in  various  communities,  and  there  can  be  no  question  but 
that  it  would  be  of  great  value  in  aiding  us  in  further  correlating  the 
data  which  we  have  obtained  from  animal  experiment  to  human  problems. 


62  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

It  will  enable  us  to  determine  more  or  less  exactly  the  gravity  of  the 
situation  which  exists  in  various  places  in  human  nutrition. 

Q.  Do  you  believe  that  this  deficiency  in  diet  is  very  widespread  and 
very  common  at  the  present  time? 

A.     I  believe  that  it  is. 

Q.     Both  in  adults  and  children? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  How  much  milk  do  you  think  an  adult  ought  to  drink  a  day  to 
keep  himself  in  good  condition? 

A.  I  have  believed  for  two  or  three  years  that  the  more  nearly  an 
adult  or  a  child  approximates  the  taking  of  a  quart  of  milk  a  day,  the 
better  off  he  will  be. 

Q.     You  would  prescribe  a  quart  of  milk  a  day? 

A.     I  would. 

Q.     For  every  adult  and  every  child  ? 

A.  Yes.  I  believe  that  so  much  that  I  have  adopted  that  regime  in 
my  own  dietary  habits,  and  several  people  who  have  worked  with  me  who 
have  studied  the  diet  as  I  have,  have  also  been  so  convinced  as  to  do 
likewise. 

Q.  You  do  not  think  there  is  any  substitute  for  the  growth  pro- 
moting substance  in  milk  that  can  be  found  in  any  other  way  ? 

VA.  I  would  prefer  to  answer  that  question  by  saying  that  this  matter 
was  discussed  last  December  at  Chicago,  at  a  meeting  of  a  group  of  about 
twelve  men,  bacteriologists,  health  officers,  and  physiological  chemists, 
and  students  of  nutrition;  a  group  of  men  known  as  the  National  Com- 
mission on  Milk  Standards  which  was  organized  by  and  is  financed  by 
the  New  York  Milk  Committee.  This  group  of  men  discussed  that  ques- 
tion in  Chicago  last  fall  and  arrived  at  the  unanimous  conclusion  that 
milk  is  the  only  food  for  which  there  is  no  effective  substitute. 

Q.  And  what  is  your  opinion  regarding  the  cost  of  milk  at  the  pres- 
ent time  as  compared  with  the  cost  of  other  foods  ?  Have  you  looked  into 
that  question? 

A.  Yes.  At  the  present  time  milk  is  one  of  the  most  economical 
food  stuffs.  That  fact  is  not  generally  realized,  but  I  feel  it  is  the  con- 
census of  opinion  of  those  who  are  qualified  by  technical  education  to 
judge  this  matter ;  I  think  they  will  all  agree  that  even  at  the  present  high 
prices,  milk  is  an  economical  food  to  purchase. 

Q.  Now,  as  I  understand  it,  you  look  on  milk  as  a  necessity  for  the 
young  and  old,  a  vital  necessity? 

A.     I  do. 

Q.  You  believe  that  the  human  race  cannot  get  along  very  well 
without  it? 

A.  I  believe  we  will  not  achieve  the  maximum  well  being  of  which 
we  are  capable,  unless  dairy  products  are  used  in  the  diet. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


63 


THE  FEEDING  OF  OLEOMARGARINE  COMPARED  WITH  THE 

FEEDING  OF  BUTTER  IN  ONE  OF  ROCHESTER'S 

INSTITUTIONS 

In  connection  with  the  inquiry  as  to  the  milk  supply  of  Rochester 
institutions,  a  most  interesting  piece  of  information  was  obtained  from 
the  Jewish  Orphan  Asylum  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Larson,  Secretary  of  the  New 
York  Milk  Committee,  who  had  charge  of  that  branch  of  the  Survey. 
This  institution  at  the  present  time  has  a  population  of  29  children  under 
16  years  of  age,  and  10  adults.  For  a  number  of  years  the  management 
has  made  a  practice  of  regularly  taking  the  weights  and  measuring  the 
heights  of  children  there  and  recording  these  weights  and  heights  in  the' 
institution's  records.  The  diet  furnished  to  the  children  has  been  uni- 
formly good.  The  daily  milk  supply  at  present  is  25  quarts,  of  which  8 
quarts  are  used  for  cooking,  14  for  children  and  3  for  adults. 

During  the  period  of  6  months  previous  to  January  1st,  1917,  there 
were  no  changes  made  in  the  diet  of  the  children  of  this  institution.  They 
were  receiving  among  other  things  regularly  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
butter.  On  January  1st,  1917,  the  management  decided  to  substitute  oleo- 
margarine in  place  of  butter,  and  for  the  following  six  months,  that  is  to 
say,  from  January  1st,  1917,  to  June  29th,  1917,  the  institution  was  sup- 
plied with  oleomargarine  instead  of  butter.  At  the  end  of  June,  the 
management  became  dissatisfied  with  the  oleomargarine  and  decided  to 
abandon  its  use  and  return  to  a  regular  butter  supply.  No  other  changes 
than  these  were  made  at  any  time  in  the  diet  or  in  the  milk  supply. 

Records  of  the  weight  of  10  children  who  were  in  the  institution 
continuously  during  the  periods  above  mentioned  are  given  in  Table 
No.  20: 

TABLE  No.  20 


AGE. 

WEIGHT. 

HEIGHT. 

Sex. 

vO 

1 
J 

CVJ 

vO 

7 

I 

t^ 

1 

t^ 

12—30—17 

oo 

I 
J 

oo 

I 
1 

t^ 

1 

t^ 

12—30—17 

oo 

I 
^ 

00 
t^ 

I 

s 

1.     Boy 
2.    Boy 
3.     Boy 
4.     Girl 
5.     Boy 
6.     Girl 
7.     Boy 
8.     Girl 
9.    Girl 
10.     Boy 

1335 

14A 
8A 
8& 
10A 
9A 
10A 
16 
14A 
11A 

70.75 
90. 

52.75 
54.75 
63. 
70.75 
104.50 
99.50 
66. 

77.5 
94. 
56. 
52.75 
54.50 
67.50 
77.25 

104.25 
67.50 

88. 
102. 
58.50 
56.25 
60. 
73.75 
79.75 
72. 
116.50 
71.25 

84.75 
100.50 
54.25 
55. 
57.50 
71. 
78.50 
70.25 
123. 
66.25 

91.25 

60.25 
62.50 
65.50 
82. 
82.25 
75. 
132. 
77.37 

56.25 
59.50 
48.25 
50.25 
50. 
54.50 
54.75 

61.25 
54. 

58. 
61. 

48.75 
51.25 
51.25 
56. 
56.50 
54.25 
62.50 
55. 

60. 
62.75 
49.25 

51.75 
52. 
57. 
57. 
54.75 
63. 
55.25 

61.25 

50." 
52.75 
53. 
58. 
57.50 
55.25 
63.50 
56.25 

64 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

A  tabulation  of  the  weights  of  seven  children  whose  records  were 
complete  for  the  five  periods  of  six  months  each,  is  summarized  below  : 

Total  Weight  of  Butter  or 

Date.  Seven  Children.  Loss  or  Gain.                Oleomargarine 

Dec.  31,  1916  477.50  pounds  .' Butter  Period 

July     1,  1917  501.25  pounds  +23.75  pounds  Butter  Period 

Dec.  30,  1917  545.50  pounds  +44.25  pounds  Butter  Period 

Tune  29,  1918  536.      pounds  —  9.50  pounds  Oleomargarine  Period 

Dec.  27,  1918  592.87  pounds  +56.87  pounds  Butter  Period 

In  the  list  of  children  there  was  one  girl  who  was  extremely  large 
for  her  age  and  growing  so  rapidly  that  she  would  be  called  super- 
normal. Her  increase  in  weight  was  not  seriously  interrupted  by  changes 
in  diet.  The  results  of  these  observations  are  graphically  illustrated  in 
the  diagram  on  next  page. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


65 


TABLE  No.  21 

GROUP   OF    SEVEN    NORMAL    CHILDREN    WHOSE   RECORDS    WERE 
COMPLETE   FOR   FIVE   SIX-MONTHS   PERIODS 


DATE 
TOTAL  WEIGHT 


12-31-16 
477.50 


UNIT 


GAIN 
Loss 


7-1-17 
501.25 

23.75 


12-30-17 
545.50 

44.25 


6-29-18 
536 

9.50 


12-27-18 
592.87 

56.87 


66  MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

The  same  children's  individual  weights  for  the  six.  months  during 
which  oleomargarine  was  fed,  and  for  the  six  months  when  butter  feed- 
ing was  again  resumed  and  oleomargarine  feeding  was  abandoned,  are 
shown  by  the  curves  in  the  following  chart.  It  is  noteworthy  in  this 
chart  that  with  the  single  exception  of  the  girl  No.  9,  who  was  super- 
normal in  her  growth,  the  other  nine  children  all  lost  weight  during  the 
oleomargarine  period.  In  the  case  of  the  super-normal  girl,  the  curves 
show  that  her  growth  was  slightly  checked  during  this  period. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


67 


TABLE  No.  22 


No.      $ex       Age     Weight 


9 

girl 

15 

104 

2 

boy 

15 

94 

1 

boy 

14 

77 

7 
8 

boy 
girl 

11 
10 

77 
72 

6        girl 
10        boy 


girl 


10 
12 


5        boy        11 
3        boy          9 


DATE 
DIET 


67 
67 

54 
56 


53 


7-1-17 
Butter 


12-30-17 
Butter 


6-29-18 
Oleo 


12-27-18 
Butter 


68  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

While  the  number  of  these  children  was  not  very  large,  yet  the  uni- 
formity of  results  during  the  different  periods  makes  it  necessary  to 
believe  that  some  common  cause  existed  for  their  losses  and  gains  in 
weight.  Since  there  were  no  apparent  changes  in  diet  with  the  exception 
of  the  substitution  of  oleomargarine  for  butter,  it  seems  fair  to  conclude 
that  the  lack  of  butter  in  the  diet  was  a  large  factor  in  the  loss  of  weight 
during  the  period  when  oleomargarine  was  fed. 

As  already  pointed  out  by  Professor  McCollum  and  other  observers, 
when  rats  are  fed  on  cotton  seed  oil  or  sunflower  seed  oil  or  other  vege- 
table oils  which  are  contained  in  large  quantities  in  some  brands  of  oleo- 
margarine, they  failed  to  grow  and  showed  a  stunted,  unhealthy  appear- 
ance, but  when  fed  on  butter  fat  in  connection  with  other  foods,  they 
attained  full  growth  and  fine  condition. 

Professor  Henry  C.  Sherman,  in  his  book  entitled,  "Chemistry  of 
Food  and  Nutrition,"  shows  the  cost  of  3,000  calories  of  energy  when 
purchased  in  the  form  of  various  food  products : 

Price  Cost  of 
Food-                                                             Per  Lb.       3,000  Calories. 

Clear  Fat  Pork $  .20  $  .16 

Bacon .25  .27 

Round  Steak  plus  Fat *.            .20  .88 

Round  Steak  Lean .20  1 26 

Eggs  (8  at  36c  per  doz.) .24  1.13 

Oysters  (at  30c  qt.,  1  pt) 15  1.90 

Milk— 1  pt.  at  6c  qt 03  28 

J£!M  pt  at  8c  qt °4  :37 

Milk— 1  pt.  at  10c  qt .05  .46 

In  reviewing  these  figures,  Professor  Sherman  shows  that  people 
can  afford  to  pay  20c  per  quart  for  milk  if  they  can  afford  to  pay  25c 
per  pound  for  beef.  The  above  statement  is  limited  strictly  to  the  food 
value  of  milk  from  the  standpoint  of  calories. 

At  Rochester  prices  for  November,  1919,  for  the  principal  products 
in  the  above  table  the  same  would  give  the  following  figures : 

T-,     ,  Price  Cost  of 

Food-  Per  Lb.       3,000  Calories. 

£at  Pork   $  .40  $  .32 

|fco,n  ••••••• •••            -35  .38 

Steak    plus  Fat 42  1>85 

Steak,  Lean  40  2  52 

Eggs,  8  at  75c  per  doz. .  Vc? 

Milk,  i4c  qt-i  Pt :::      &         ~g 

Professor  M.  J.  Rosenau  of  Harvard  University,  states  that  the  value 
of  milk  is  as  follows: 

2  large  eggs, 


A  glass  of  milk  is  about  equal  to . 


a  large  serving  of  lean  meat, 

2  moderate-sized  potatoes, 

5  tablespoonfuls  of  cooked  cereal, 

3  tablespoonfuls  of  boiled  rice,  or 
2  slices  of  bread. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  69 

In  testifying  before  the  Mayor's  Committee  on  Milk,  New  York, 
1917,  Dr.  L.  Emmett  Holt,  one  of  the  leading  specialists  in  children's 
diseases,  stated  as  follows: 

"For  infants  during  the  first  year,  a  quart  of  milk  a  day  is  necessary.  For  the 
second  year,  a  pint  and  a  half.  There  is  no  food  as  economical  at  present  prices 
for  the  nutrition  of  infants  as  milk.  *  *  *  The  habit  of  giving  tea  and  coffee 
to  young  children  is  positively  injurious.  For  children  between  the  ages  of  two 
and  six  years,  the  daily  ration  of  milk  should  be  one  pint  per  day  as  a  minimum. 

"Dr.  Lucas,  of  Berlin,  found  very  greatly  increased  susceptibility  to  tubercu- 
losis as  a  result  of  under-feeding  particularly  among  children.  I  should  think  that 
.after  six  years  of  age  up  to  twelve  or  thirteen  years,  a  pint  of  milk  a  day  ought  to 
be  allowed  to  all  children." 

Professor  Graham  Lusk  of  Cornell  University,  in  his  testimony 
(before  the  same  Committee),  said: 

"We  cannot  expect  a  good  community  dietary  if  that  community  uses  less  than 
one-half  quart  of  milk  per  capita  per  day.  Unless  there  was  that  amount  of  milk, 
the  dietary  would  be  seriously  one-sided.  The  milk  has  exceptional  value  as  a  food 
for  growth  due  to  the  so-called  vitamines.  *  *  *  It  is  the  most  important  single 
food  for  adults.  It  is  more  economical  to  produce  than  meat.  A  man  confined  to 
a  bread  and  meat  diet  will  show  deficiencies,  while  a  man  confined  to  a  corres- 
ponding bread  and  milk  diet  will  go  on  indefinitely.  *  *  *  A  vegetable  diet  will 
always  be  improved  by  an  addition  of  milk.  If  it  was  a  question  of  one  or  the 
other,  I  think  it  important  that  a  man  have  milk  rather  than  meat." 

Professor  Graham  Lusk  of  Cornell  University,  in  his  testimony 
(before  the  same  Committee),  said: 

"No  family  of  five  should  buy  meat  until  they  have  bought  at  least  three  quarts 
of  milk.  Milk  contains  not  only  protein  of  animal  origin,  but  also  a  very  valuable 
fat  which  has  specific  properties  for  growth.  It  also  contains  in  aqueous  solution, 
materials  which  prevent  the  development  of  beri-beri  and  pellagra.  Milk  is  the 
cheapest  form  of  protein  you  can  get.  It  is  the  most  complete  and  sufficient  food 
that  can  be  had.  Around  the  dairy  farms  centers  the  proper  nutrition  of  a  nation." 

If  the  quantity  of  milk  recommended  by  Professor  Sherman  and 
Lusk  were  used  by  the  consumers  of  Rochester,  the  city  would  consume 
the  following  amounts  daily : 

Quantity 
Age.  Population.    Per  Person.  Total. 

Under   1   year 9,854  1  quart  9,854  quarts 

1  to  6  years 65,720  */4  "  49,290 

7  to  16  years 70,119  #  *  35,059 

Over  16  years 144,307  Y4  "  36,076 

290,000  130,279      " 

The  present  average  supply  is  estimated  at  90,000  quarts  of  milk 
daily.  The  figures  in  the  above  table  indicate  therefore  that  the  children 


70  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

and  adults  of  Rochester  should  use  at  least  40,000  quarts  more  milk  than 
they  now  consume.  The  milk  recommended  for  children  under  one  year 
if  not  consumed  directly  by  the  child  should  be  consumed  by  nursing 
mothers  if  the  child  is  to  receive  proper  nourishment.  The  latest  re- 
searches of  Professor  McCollum,  as  testified  to  by  him,  indicate  that 
every  person  can  consume  daily  one  quart  of  milk  or  its  equivalent  in 
other  dairy  products  to  the  advantage  of  their  health  and  strength.  These 
other  products  refer  to  butter,  cheese,  condensed  milk,  cream,  etc.  If 
Rochester  should  follow  the  advice  of  Professor  McCollum  it  would 
therefore  consume  daily  290,000  quarts  of  milk,  or  its  equivalent  in  dairy 
products. 

Dr.  John  R.  Williams  of  Rochester,  in  his  testimony  at  a  public 
hearing  held  in  the  City  Hall  on  August  13,  1919,  made  the  following 
statements  regarding  the  food  value  of  milk : 

I  would  like  to  introduce  a  photograph  here  in  evidence,  if  accept- 
able, showing  the  value  of  milk  for  children.  I  have  here  a  photograph 
of  six  children ;  three  of  them  have  been  fed  or  liked  milk  and  were  fed 
liberally  on  milk  from  early  infancy  right  up  to  the  present  time;  the 
other  three  were  not  fed  on  milk,  they  took  a  dislike  for  it  and  were  not 
encouraged  to  use  milk,  and  the  result  is  that  the  children  not  fed  on 
milk  show  a  lack  of  vitality  and  a  lack  of  growth,  which  was  very 
strongly  absent  with  milk- fed  children.  The  parents  of  the  children  who 
were  fed  on  milk  are  smaller  than  those  of  the  children  not  fed  on  milk 
and  these  children  are  the  same  age  by  pairs. 

I  found  a  larg'e  number  of  children  were  using  condensed  milk  in 
my  study  of  conditions  in  Rochester.  I  appealed  to  the  wholesale  groc- 
ers of  Rochester  and  they  were  able  to  tell  me — there  was  practically 
no  condensed  milk  imported  into  Rochester  by  jobbers  that  practically  all 
the  condensed  milk  sold  here  was  sold  through  wholesale  grocers,  and 
they  gave  me  access  to  their  figures,  and  they  told  me  that  condensed 
milk  was  sold  in  Rochester  to  the  extent  of  two  million  cans  a  year,  and 
I  found  a  large  number  of  people  were  using  condensed  milk. 

Q.     What  do  you  say  about  the  use  of  condensed  milk,  doctor  ? 

A.     I  think  it  is  much  inferior  to  cow's  milk. 

Q.     In  process,  it  is  sweetened? 

A.  Yes,  I  think  its  food  value  is  much  inferior;  I  think  it  lacks 
the  essential  properties  of  growth  production. 


VII 

RELATION  OF  MILK  TO  INFANT  MORTALITY 

Much  has  been  written  upon  this  subject, 'and  the  literature  is  so 
full  of  material  prepared  by  the  leading  medical  and  public  health  ex- 
perts of  the  world  that  the  subject  is  familiar  to  everyone  who  has  given 
any  attention  to  the  relation  of  public  milk  supplies  to  the  public  health. 

The  authorities  are  unanimous  in  agreeing  that  there  is  a  close  rela- 
tionship between  infant  mortality  and  the  quality  of  the  milk  used  by  any 
city.  It  will  be  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  this  Survey  to  quote  the 
testimony  of  Mr.  John  H.  Larson,  Secretary  of  the  New  York  Milk 
Committee,  who,  because  of  his  position  and  the  work  of  that  committee, 
has  for  a  number  of  years  given  special  attention  to  this  subject : 

JOHN  H.  LARSON,  produced  as  a  witness  on  behalf  of  the  Committee, 
first  being  duly  sworn,  examined  by  Dr.  North,  testified : 

Q.  Mr.  Larson,  will  you  state  briefly  your  previous  experience  in 
connection  with  milk  investigations  and  your  present  position  ? 

A.  I  am  the  Secretary  of  the  New  York  Milk  Committee  and  have 
been  connected  with  that  organization  since  1912. 

Q.     Will  you  state  what  that  organization  is? 

A.  It  is  an  organization  to  promote  the  welfare  of  children  in  New 
York  City  and  throughout  the  country  by  encouraging  a  safe  milk  supply 
for  the  children,  and  other  methods  of  preventing  infant  mortality. 

Q.  Will  you  state  briefly  what  that  organization  has  done  since  you 
have  occupied  the  position  of  Secretary,  before  and  since? 

A.  I  think  I  better  begin  at  the  beginning.  The  New  York  Milk 
Committee  was  originally  organized  because  the  milk  supply  of  New  York 
City  was  not  deemed  fit  for  infant  feeding,  for  the  feeding  of  infants 
who  were  not  breast  fed.  The  primary  object  was  to  educate  the  public 
to  demand  a  supply  that, was  safe  for  their  children.  In  order  to  do  this 
we  started  two  things;  one  was  the  infant  milk  stations  in  New  York 
City;  they  were  conducted  up  until  and  including  1911,  when  they  were 
taken  over  by  the  city. 

Q.     Are  those  stations  still  operating? 

A.     Yes,  the  City  of  New  York  is  operating  sixty  of  them  today. 

Q.  They  are  still  selling  milk  in  bottles  to  the  mothers  of  those 
babies  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  How  much  less  does  that  milk  cost  than  the  milk  delivered  to 
the  home? 

A.  Two  cents  less  than  Grade  A  pasteurized  delivered  to  the  home, 
or  ten  cents  less  than  certified. 


72 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  that  milk  has  been  sold  from  these  stores 
at  a  loss  ? 

A.     The  milk  stations  ? 

Q.     Yes. 

A.     No,  it  has  not. 

Q.     Is  it  not  true  that  the  city  pays  part  of  that  expense? 

A.  *  *  *  the  milk  is  dispensed  in  each  milk  station  for  which 
the  city  pays  the  rent. 

Q.     The  city  pays  the  rent  of  the  stores  ? 

A.     All  the  overhead  charges. 

Q.     For  light  and  heat? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     And  janitor  services? 

A.     Yes.  ,| 

Q.     Then  these  charges  are  contributed  by  the  city? 

A.  The  city  contributes  to  the  expense  of  dispensing  that  milk  in 
order  that  it  may  have  an  inducement  to  get  the  mother  to  come  to  the 
station ;  it  is  a  paying  proposition  for  Father  Knickerbocker. 

By  Mr.  Fuller: 

Q.     All  these  expenses  are  paid  by  the  city  ? 

A.     I  do  not  believe  that  the  company  loses  money  on  its  contract. 

Q.     The  point  is  here ;  the  city  pays  certain  overhead  charges  ? 

A.  No.  The  city  has  its  milk  station  and  it  tells  the  milk  companies 
of  New  York  City,  "We  want  milk  dispensed  at  these  stations;  what  is 
your  bid  for  dispensing  it,  Grade  A  pasteurized  milk?"  And  the  com- 
pany send  in  their  bid;  one  of  the  companies  gets  the  contract,  and  the 
city  says,  "We  put  at  your  disposal  this  station  to  dispense  your  milk; 
we  will  not  charge  you  any  rent,  -or  for  light  or  heat  or  janitor  service ; 
the  reason  we  do  that  is  having  milk  on  sale  in  the  station  for  the  babies 
is  an  inducement  for  the  mother  to  come  to  the  station  for  instructions 
for  the  infants." 

Q.     What  does  the  company  furnish  milk  for? 

A.     Fifteen  cents  at  the  present  time. 

By  Dr.  North: 

Q.     They  charge  fifteen  cents  also,  do  they  not,  to  the  mothers  ? 

A.  It  is  not  delivered  at  the  station ;  it  is  delivered  to  the  mother  at 
the  station. 

Q.     The  mother  pays  fifteen  cents  a  quart? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  it  would  cost  if  the  station  charges  were 
added  to  that,  to  sell  it  through  those  stores? 

A.     No,  I  do  not. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 73 

Q.  Have  you  got  figures  to  show  what  it  cost  the  city  to  operate 
those  stations? 

A.  I  have  got  figures  to  show  what  the  station  operation  costs,  yes, 
but  they  are  grouped ;  do  you  want  that  now  ? 

Q.  Perhaps  we  might  as  well  have  it  now  as  long  as  you  are  on  that 
subject? 

A.  Let  me  give  you  this  first,  getting  back  to  the  cost  of  the  milk 
to  the  mothers;  in  1911,  1912,  1913,  1914,  1915  and  1916,  it  was  8  cents 
a  quart. 

Mr.  Pierce:    Grade  A  pasteurized? 
Witness:    Yes. 

In  1917  it  started  with  9  cents,  9^,  10^,  12  and  12 J^.'  In  1918  it 
started  with  13>^  ;  went  down  to  12,  12^,  13,  15  and  16.  In  1919  it 
started  with  14  cents,  and  today  it  is  15  cents  a  quart. 

Q.  Those  changes  were  due  to  changes  in  the  market  price  of 
milk? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  What  did  the  New  York  Milk  Committee,  which  you  represent, 
have  to  do  with  the  establishment  of  these  stations  ? 

A.     They  started  the  milk  station  experiment  in  New  York  City. 

Q.     How  many  stations  did  they  establish  of  their  own? 

A.     Thirty-one. 

Q.     Before  the  city  took  them  over? 

A.     Yes,  and  they  added  to  them  since  until  now  they  have  sixty. 

Q.     About  how  many  babies  a  da,y  are  fed  at  these  stations? 

A.     In  1918  there  were  46,182  indWidual  babies. 

By  Mr.  Pierce:  / 

Q.     A  quart  to  a  child? 

A-     In  1918  there  were  5,815,425  quarts  of  milk  dispensed. 

Q.     Have  you  analyzed  that  to  show  what  is  given  to  a  child  ? 

A.  Per  capita  daily?  No,  I  have  not;  it  does  not  mean  that  each 
one  of  those  babies  had  a  quart  of  milk  a  day  during  the  year,  but  there 
were  that  many  individual  babies  registered  at  the  stations. 

By  Dr.  North: 

O.     Do  these  stations  operate  the  year  around? 

A.     They  do,  yes. 

Q.  Are  they  so  located  that  children  in  any  part  of  the  city  can  get 
milk  there  ? 

A.  No,  I  would  not  say  that;  they  are  located  according  to  the 
need  of  the  community.  If  you  have  a  community  where  there  are  ten 
children  that  need  milk  stations  very  badly  you  would  not  prefer  that 
community  in  locating  a  station  to  a  community  that  had  a  thousand 


74 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

children  needing  it  very  badly.  Milk  stations  favor  congested  sections 
where  the  baby  population  need  milk  station  service. 

Q.     That  is,  the  stations  are  located  in  the  most  congested  districts? 

A.  Yes,  in  those  congested  districts  the  milk  stations  are  always 
within  walking  distance  of  any  mother  in  the  district. 

Q.  Now,  were  the  Milk  Committee's  expectations  realized  in  the 
establishment  of  these  stations  by  any  marked  effect  on  infant  mortality? 

A.     Yes,  they- were. 

Q.     Suppose  you  go  into  that  very  fully  ? 

A.  Perhaps  we  can  cover  that  very  briefly  by  giving  the  infant  mor- 
tality rate.  The  rate  in  New  York  City  for  1906-1910,  that  is  before 
the  milk  station  period,  was  135.8;  that  is,  out  of  every  thousand  babies 
135  died  under  one  year  of  age;  1911-1915,  you  recall  that  the  milk 
station  drive  was  in  1911,  the  infant  mortality  rate  was  102.2  per  thou- 
sand; in  1916  it  was  93.1 ;  in  1917,  88.8;  in  1918,  917.  The  milk  stations 
in  New  York  City  have  helped  reduce  the  infant  mortality  rate  since  1910 
from  135  to  91. 

By  Mr.  Pierce: 

Q.     How  much  do  these  stations  cost  the  city  per  year  ? 

A.  The  milk  stations  today  are  costing  the  city,  each  station  in 
round  numbers,  $3,000  a  year;  that  includes  nursing,  cleaning,  medical 
and  immediate  supervision,  but  does  not  include  the  pro  rata  distribution 
of  the  Health  Commissioner's  salary  nor  the  salary  of  the  Chief  Director 
of  the  Bureau  of  Child  Hygiene. 

By  Mr.  North: 

Q.     Is  that  the  average  cost? 

A.  $3,000.00  is  the  average  cost.  A  station  of  two  hundred  babies 
can  get  along  with  one  nurse  and  a  part  time  doctor;  a  station  of  six 
hundred  babies  will  require  a  nurse,  two  assistant  nurses  and  a  doctor, 
that  has  at  least  two  or  three  clinics  a  week. 

Q.     The  salaries  of  those  nurses  and  doctors  are  all  paid  by  the  city? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     Are  they  open  all  day  or  only  in  the  morning  ? 

A.  They  are  generally  open  only  in  the  morning  and  the  nurses  are 
out  in  the  field  visiting  mothers  and  babies  in  the  afternoon,  until  late 
in  the  afternoon  when  they  come  to  the  station  and  fill  out  their  records 

Q.     Do  the  mothers  bring  the  babies  to  the  stations  ? 

A.     Yes,  for  the  baby  clinics. 

Q.  Have  you  got  a  compilation  showing  the  work  that  has  been 
performed  by  these  stations  and  the  number  of  babies  that  have  been 
taken  care  of  by  each  station? 

A.  I  have  a  very  complete  cost  sheet  here  of  our  31  stations;  of 
course,  that  does  not  apply  today  except  in  proportion  as  to  what  costs 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  75 

were  at  that  time.  I  think  for  the  benefit  of  the  record  it  might  be  well 
to  put  in,  that  during  September,  1911,  our  31  stations  cost  $9,227.35.  It 
does  not  show  here  the  number-  of  babies,  but  the  number  of  babies  were 
31,128,  I  think,  something  like  that,  but  the  cost  per  baby  was  .0634, 
that  is,  it  is  six  and  one-third  cents  a  day  was  the  actual  cost  to  us. 

Q.     To  take  care  of  one  baby? 

A.     One  baby  for  one  day. 

Q.  Is  there  any  way  in  New  York  City  that  the  infants  and  chil- 
dren can  get  milk  as  cheaply  as  they  can  get  it  at  the  milk  station? 

A.     No,  there  is  not. 

Q.     There  is  no  way? 

A.     No. 

Q.  They  are  getting  the  cheapest  milk  there  that  they  can  get  of 
that  grade  ? 

A.  For  the  quality.  May  I  add  there  that  the  charge  is  sometimes 
made  that  the  milk  dealers  are  killing  the  babies  because  of  the  high 
price  of  milk.  My  personal  opinion  Is  that  milk  dealers  killed  the  babies 
of  New  York  City  when  they  were  selling  milk  at  4  cents  a  quart.  Dur- 
ing those  times  the  infant  mortality  rate  was  over  200  per  thousand. 

Q.     How  do  you  account  for  that  ? 

A.  That  milk  cannot  be  produced  and  sold  and  delivered  to  the 
consumer  in  a  sanitary  character  and  was  not  so  sold  and  delivered  when 
milk  retailed  at  four  cents  a  quart.  The  result  was  that  milk  contributed, 
because  of  its  unsanitary  character,  to  the  high  infant  mortality  rate. 
New  York  City  has  the  best,  or  as  good  a  milk  supply  as  any  other  city  in 
the  world,  and  has  the  least  infant  mortality  rate  of  any  large  city  in  the 
world.  It  is  all  because  of  the  fact  that  the  people  of  New  York  City 
have  been  educated  to  realize  the  value  of  a  safe  milk  supply  for  infants' 
feeding. 

Q.  You  consider  the  quality  of  the  milk  has  got  to  be  taken  into 
consideration  in  feeding  infants  and  children  as  well  as  the  price? 

A.  I  think  the  quality  of  the  milk  comes  far  before  the  price.  Price 
has  nothing  to  do  with  it  if  the  quality  is  not  there. 

Q.  What  kind  of  milk  were  the  people  buying  for  their  infants  and 
children  before  these  stations  were  established  ? 

A.  Milk  that  would  not  to-day,  according  to  all  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  National  Commission  on  Milk  Standards,  come  up  to  Grade 
C  pasteurized. 

Q.     The  lowest  grade  of  milk  sold  in  the  city  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     Where  were  they  getting  it  ? 

A.     There  were  a  lot  of  small  dealers  in  the  city,  a  lot  of  dairy 


76 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

farmers  surrounding  the  city  hauling  their  milk  in,  or  in  most  cases  the 
producer  was  the  milk  dealer  as  well. 

Q.  Was  this  milk  delivered  to  the  homes  of  the  people  or  did  they 
go  to  the  stores  to  get  it? 

A.     They  went  to  the  stores  to  get  it. 

Q.  Does  New  York  City  permit  the  sale  of  dipped  milk  at  the 
present  time? 

A.     Unfortunately,  yes. 

Q.     Is  that  dispensed  in  grocery  stores  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Has  the  Milk  Committee  disapproved  of  the  distribution  or  dis- 
pensing of  dipped  milk? 

A.  We  disapprove  of  the  dispensing  of  dipped  milk.  Milk  cannot 
be  safely  handled  except  in  a  single  container. 

Q.  Has  the  Milk  Committee  any  evidence  that  the  children  that 
have  been  fed  upon  dipped  milk  from  grocery  stores  are  any  worse  off 
than  those  that  have  been  given  bottled  milk  from  the  infant  milk  sta- 
tions, or  that  have  been  fed  upon  good  bottled  milk? 

A.  I  have  not  just  the  figures  with  me,  Dr.  North,  but  my  impres- 
sion is  that  the  baby  death  rate  among  the  babies  fed  at  our  milk  stations 
on  Homer  milk  was  57  per  cent,  lower  than  the  baby  death  rate  through- 
out our  city  fed  on  good  and  bad  milk. 

Q.  Has  the  Milk  Committee  in  its  work  taken  into  consideration 
the  records  made  by  other  investigators  in  New  York  of  the  mortality 
of  children  fed  on  loose  dipped  milk  from  grocery  stores  as  compared 
with  the  mortality  of  children  fed  on  good  bottled  milk,  for  example, 
such  work  as  was  done  by  Dr.  Park  and  Dr.  Holt? 

A.     Yes,  it  has  those  records. 

Q.  Now,  will  you  tell  us  something  about  the  effect  or  influence  on 
infant  mortality  of  this  system  of  infant  feeding.  I  think  you  have  some 
mortality  records  to  show  us  there,  of  the  results  of  infant  feeding? 

A.  In  1913,  54.8%  of  the  babies  at  the  milk  stations  were  breast 
fed.  In  1918,  67%  were  breast  fed.  In  1913,  19.6%  of  the  babies  were 
mixed  fed.  In  1918,  17%  were  mixed  fed.  In  1913,  25.5%  were  bottle 
fed.  In  1918,  16%  were  bottle  fed.  It  shows  that  the  educational  propa- 
ganda for  the  benefit  of  the  mother,  through  the  milk  station,  has  induced 
the  mothers  of  New  York  to  increasingly  nurse  their  babies  at  the  breast, 
and  the  mixed  feeding  percentage  of  mothers  has  decreased,  and  the 
bottle  fed  percentage  of  mothers  has  decreased.  Now,  what  is  the  pur- 
pose of  that?  In  our  work  we  found  that  of  the  babies  registered  at 
our  stations  who  died,  6.5%  were  breast  fed,  that  is,  the  infant  mortality 
rate  per  thousand -breast  fed  babies  registered  at  our  stations  was  65; 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  77 

that  is,  this  much  out  of  a  thousand,  or  11  out  of  two  thousand  died.  Of 
the  mixed  fed  babies,  24.2  per  thousand  died.  Of  the  babies  that  were 
bottle  fed,  30.7  per  thousand  died.  Your  mortality  problem  limits  itself 
to  the  infant  that  is  artificially  fed.  The  ratio— do  you  want  this  put  in 
record  ? 

Q.     Yes,  sir? 

A.  The  ratio  of  deaths  of  these  three  groups  of  feeding  are  as 
follows:  For  every  breast  fed  baby,  four  mixed  fed  babies  die;  for 
every  breast  fed  baby,  I  mean,  every  breast  fed  baby  that  dies,  four  mixed 
fed  babies  die ;  for  every  breast  fed  baby  that  dies,  five  bottle  fed  babies 
die.  You  have  ten  babies  who  die ;  one  of  them  is  breast  fed ;  four  are 
breast  and  bottle  fed,  and  five  are  bottle  fed.  If  any  community  will 
realize  and  understand  that  fact,  that  in  itself  will  do  a  whole  lot  to  pre- 
vent this  unnecessary  loss  of  infant  life. 

Q.     Do  these  stations  sell  milk  for  the  mothers  themselves  to  drink  ? 

A.  They  do.  I  am  under  the  impression  that  a  very  great  per 
centage  of  the  milk  supply  that  goes  through  the  stations  in  New  York 
City  goes  to  the  mother  rather  than  the  baby. 

Q.  Do  you  consider  that  the  establishment  of  those  infant  milk  sta- 
tions in  New  York  City  is  a  success? 

A.     I  do. 

Q.     And  do  you  think  that  every  city  should  have  such  stations? 

A.  The  problem  is  a  problem  of  ignorance.  Infant  mortality  per 
se  is  not  a  milk  station  problem.  Milk  stations  will  prevent  unnecessary 
loss  of  infant  life  more  quickly  than  any  other  agent  that  can  be  used. 
As  I  said  before,  you  have  got  to  have  that  milk  as  a  bait  to  get  the  op- 
portunity to  educate  the  mother  in  the  care  of  her  infant  and  herself. 

Q.  Supposing  you  consider  the  milk  as  a  commodity  offered  for 
sale  to  the  mothers  of  infants  in  the  congested  districts,  would  you  say 
that  the  City  of  New  York  is  justified  in  paying  the  cost  to  maintain 
these  stations  so  that  this  milk  can  be  sold  at  the  lowest  price  to  the  in- 
fants and  mothers  ? 

A.     I  would,  yes. 

Q.     You  think  the  city  is  justified  in  paying  that  charge  ? 

A.     I  think  it  is  a  mighty  good  investment  for  a  city. 

Q.  Now,  can  you  show  us  something  about  the  mortality  under  one 
month  ? 

A.  The  actual  condition  is  this:  This  chart  shows  what  happens 
to  one  thousand  expectant  mothers  in  New  York  City.  Assuming  that 
you  have  a  thousand  mothers  that  are  pregnant  and  you  have  control  of 
them  until  one  year  after  the  birth  of  their  babies,  this  is  your  result: 
Out  of  that  thousand,  4.7  mothers  die  from  causes  due  to  pregnancy  and 


78 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

confinement ;  43.4  of  those  mothers  give  birth  to  still  born  babies,  their 
babies  are  dead  before  they  are  born;  35.2  of  those  mothers  lose  their 
live  born  babies  through  death  during  the  first  month  of  birth.  Ignoring 
the  fact  that  five  of  the  mothers  die  and  take  your  potential  baby  lives 
from  conception  until  one  month  after  birth  and  you  divide  them  into 
three  groups  of  those  who  die ;  one-third  are  born  dead ;  the  second  third 
die  during  the  first  month  after  birth,  and  the  last  third  die  during  the 
remaining  eleven  months  of  the  first  year.  Two-thirds  of  those  potential 
lives  are  gone  before  there  is  any  possible  chance  of  them  availing  them- 
selves of  the  milk  station  machinery.  That  is  for  New  York  City. 

Mr.  Pierce:    That  is,  two-thirds  of  those  who  die? 
The  Witness:    Yes. 

Q.  Then  in  our  figures  that  we  have  been  considering  on  infant 
mortality  which  has  been  the  cause  for  this  milk  agitation,  two-thirds  of 
the  children  who  die  have  no  relation  at  all  to  the  milk  agitation  ? 

A.     Not  in  the  least. 

Q.     They  die  before  the  end  of  the  first  month? 

A.     They  do. 

Q.  Then,  only  one-third  of  the  number  of  children  that  have  been 
quoted  so  often  as  the  reason  for  the  milk  agitation  really  have  anything 
to  do  with  the  milk  supply? 

A.     Just  one-third,  yes. 

Q.     Now,  have  you  some  more  figures  on  that  point? 

A.  I  have  the  same  figures  for  the  City  of  Rochester  that  I  have 
just  quoted  for  New  York  City.  This  is  from  the  vital  statistics  of 
Rochester  for  1917:  Out  of  one  thousand  expectant  mothers  in  Roch- 
ester that  year,  4.6  died  from  causes  due  to  pregnancy  and  confinement : 
39.0  gave  birth  to  dead  babies ;  40.9  lost  their  babies  through  death  during 
the  first  month  after  birth.  You  have  the  grouping  in  three  groups,  the 
same  here  as  in  New  York  City.  In  New  York  City  the  line  goes  down 
gradually  from  the  second  month  down ;  in  Rochester  it  does  not  do  that  ; 
the  second  month  is  lower  than  the  third  month,  and  the  fourth  month  is 
lower  than  the  third  or  fifth  month;  this  is  pro-rated  from  the  sixth 
month  on,  because  my  figures  do  not  have  the  exact  distribution,  but  it 
shows  graphically  what  the  situation  is. 

Q.  That  is  to  say,  in  Rochester  one- third  of  the  babies  who  die 
under  one  year  of  age  are  babies  who  would  be  affected  by  the  milk 
supply  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     And  two-thirds  are  not  affected? 
% 

A.     Are  not  affected. 

A.     The  problem,  then,  in  infant  mortality  does  not  concern  itself 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 79 

only  with  that  last  and  third  group  of  babies  that  die;  it  concerns  itself 
far  more  with  the  two  previous  groups.  The  New  York  Milk  Committee 
realized  that  fact  when  it  started  the  milk  stations  in  New  York  City, 
but  it  also  realized  that  it  could  not  go  back  so  far  as  to  reach  with 
medical  nursing  and  care  the  expectant  mother  unless  it  had  the  milk 
station  with  its  milk  as  a  bait  for  getting  the  mother  with  the  baby.  That 
was  the  third  group.  Consequently,  in  connection  with  the  milk  stations 
we  started  a  program  of  providing  pre-natal  care  for  expectant  mothers ; 
the  mother  took  the  milk,  brought  the  baby  to  the  milk  station  and  the 
nurse  found  out  she  was  pregnant  and  she  would  get  her  registered  as 
an  expectant  mother  and  she  would  be  provided  with  care  during  hen 
pregnancy  and  for  one  month  after  her  confinement.  That  is  the  outline 
of  the  work.  What  did  that  work  accomplish?  It  means  that  the  group 
of  mothers  which  now,  I  think,  run  between  seven  and  ten  thousand  on 
our  records,  it  means  that  the  maternal  deaths  of  our  mothers  receiving 
pre-natal  care,  show  a  reduction  of  69  per  cent,  over  maternal  deaths 
throughout  the  city  as  well. 

Q.  That  is  the  mothers' who  patronize  those  stations? 
A.  Yes,  and  who  receive  pre-natal  care.  It  means  that  the  records 
show  a  reduction  of  22  per  cent,  in  still  births;  it  shows  a  reduction  of 
28%  in  the  deaths  under  one  month.  All  told,  it  caused  a  redaction  of 
maternal  deaths  of  69  per  cent. ;  of  still  born  babies,  22  per  cent. ;  of 
deaths  under  one  month  of  28  per  cent. 

The  position  occupied  by  the  City  of  Rochester  among  American 
cities  in  the  number  of  infants  under  one  year  of  age  who  die  annually 
has  often  been  thought  to  be  a  position  of  leadership ;  that  is  to  say,  that 
Rochester,  if  not  at  the  top,  is  near  the  top  of  the  list  because  of  the  ex- 
ceedingly small  death  rate  of  children  under  one  year. 

Because  of  this  impression,  it  will  be  useful  to  refer  to  the  annual 
report  of  the  New  York  Milk  Committee  which  shows  the  infant  death 
rate,  under  one  year,  in  all  of  the  large  cities  of  the  United  States.  In 
their  report  of  the  figures  for  the  calendar  year  1918,  the  position 
occupied  by  the  principal  American  cities  and  the  death  rate  of  infants 
under  one  year  is  shown.  Extracts  from  this  report,  showing  exactly 
the  position  which  Rochester  now  occupies,  are  given  in  the  tabulation 
below,  which  shows  that  Rochester  is  54th  in  the  list  of  cities  from 
which  statistics  were  compiled  for  1918  by  the  New  York  Milk 
Committee : 


80  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

INFANT  MORTALITY  STATISTICS 

For  the  Year  1918 

Deaths 

Per  1,000  Infants 
City.  Under  1  Year  of  Age. 

1.  Brookline,  Mass.  . . : 35.4 

2.  Madison,  Wis 38.1 

3.  Pasadena,  Cal 43.8 

4.  East  Orange,  N.  J 53.0 

5.  Berkeley,  Cal 56.5 

6.  San  Francisco,  Cal 57.2 

7.  Maiden,  Mass 60.2 

8.  Everett,  Mass 61.6 

9:  Alameda,  Cal 62.2 

10.  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 63.3 

11.  Boise,  Ohio  63.4 

12.  Seattle,  Wash 63.4 

13.  Chelsea,   Mass.   : 65.8 

14.  Newport,  R.  I 65.8 

15.  Newton,  Mass 66.6 

16.  Quincy,  Mass 67.2 

17.  Lima,  Ohio v 69.2 

18.  Grand  Rapids,  Mich 70.8 

19.  Portland,  Ore 71.7 

20.  Evansville,  111 72.2 

21.  Reno,  Nev.  72.3 

22.  Minneapolis,  Minn 72.3 

23.  Oakland,  Cal 72.7 

24.  Haverhill,  Masss 73.0 

25.  Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y 73.6 

26.  San  Jose,  Cal 76.5 

27.  Lynn,  Mass 76.8 

28.  Canton,  Ohio /. . .  77.0 

29.  Los  Angeles,  Cal 77.4 

30.  Decatur,  111 78.1 

31.  Fort  Wayne,  Ind 78.7 

32.  Spokane,  Wash 79.4 

33.  Joplin,  Mo r 80.6 

34.  Wichita,  Kan 81.3 

35.  Lincoln,  Neb 81.8 

36.  Stamford,  Conn 82.8 

37.  Concord,  N.  H  834 

38.  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y 83  8 

39.  Dayton,  Ohio 84  0 

40.  Duluth,  Minn 86X) 

41.  Galveston,  Tex 86^1 

42.  St.  Paul,  Minn 864 

43.  Jamestown,  N.  Y 86.6 

44.  Amsterdam,  N.  Y 35.9 

45.  Quincy,  111 87*0 

46.  Springfield,  Ohio  87  2 

47.  Peoria,  111 89  3 

48.  New  Haven,  Conn ...*!!!  89  5 

49.  Jackson,  Mich on'? 

50.  San  Diego,  Cal .!!!!! * !!  91  5 

51.  Sacramento,  Cal 01  'A 

52.  New  York,  N.  Y ...'.'.*.'.  91  7 

53.  Harrisburg,  Pa v . .  02  1 

54.  Rochester,  N.  Y 934 


VIII 

COST  OF  PRODUCING  ROCHESTER  MILK 

The  determination  of  the  cost  of  milk  production  presents  many 
serious  difficulties.  The  majority  of  dairy  farmers  do  not  keep  cost 
accounts.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  class  of  business  men  who 
carries  so  many  business  transactions  in  his  head,  or  can  give  more 
accurately  from  memory  the  history  of  financial  transactions  than  the 
dairy  farmer.  The  different  sizes  of  dairy  farms,  the  different  condi- 
tions of  location  and  soil,  the  methods  of  feeding,  sizes  of  herds,  amount 
of  labor  employed,  vary  to  so  great  a  degree  that  the  figures  for  each  farm 
differ  to  a  considerable  extent  from  the  figures  obtained  from  other  farms 
in  the  list.  An  entire  year's  accounting  must  be  obtained  from  each 
farm  investigated  if  the  figures  are  to  fairly  represent  the  average  cost, 
for  the  reason  that  seasonal  changes  greatly  affect  volume  of  milk  pro- 
duced and  the  cost  of  feed. 

In  approaching  the  organization  of  this  work,  it  was  recognized  that 
consideration  should  be  given  to  the  methods  of  investigation  previously 
used.  It  was  believed  by  the  Director  of  the  Survey  that  the  best  insur- 
ance that  could  be  given  to  the  correctness  of  the  methods  adopted  for 
the  present  inquiry  would  be  obtained  through  consultation  with  Professor 
G.  F.  Warren,  Professor  of  Farm  Management,  at  Cornell  University, 
because  he  is  recognized  as  the  highest  authority  in  this  country  on  farm 
economics.  At  the  request  of  the  Director  of  the  Survey,  Professor 
Warren  came  to  Rochester  and  furnished  copies  of  the  report  blanks 
used  by  him  in  his  own  inquiries  of  the  cost  of  milk  production.  He  also 
designated  some  of  his  own  assistants  to  furnish  further  advice  on  this 
subject.  H.  E.  Babcock,  State  Director  of  Farm  Bureaus,  volunteered  to 
secure  for  the  Director  of  the  Survey  men  who  had  been  engaged  in 
country  farm  bureau  work  and  had  had  extensive  experience  in  compiling 
farm  cost  accounts.  As  a  result  of  this  co-operation,  four  inspectors 
were  employed  who  could  qualify  in  an  unusual  manner  for  work  of  this 
character.  These  men  were  in  the  field  for  an  average  period  of  nine 
weeks,  and  during  that  entire  time  were  engaged  in  making  detailed 
studies  in  consultation  with  dairy  farmers  as  to  their  cost  items. 

The  preparation  of  the  report  blanks  used  by  them  was  done  after 
consultation  with  E.  G.  Misner,  Professor  of  Farm  Management  at 
Cornell  University,  who  assisted  in  preparing  a  modification  of  former 
report  blanks  adapted  especially  to  the  work  proposed.  Mr.  C.  P.  Clark, 
who  had  had  considerable  experience  in  supervising  investigations  of 
cost  accounts  and  statistical  work,  was  made  supervisor  of  the  entire 
investigation  of  the  cost  of  milk  production. 


82 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

It  is  believed  consequently  that  the  methods  of  obtaining  the  in- 
formation, and  the  personnel  of  the  investigating  staff,  was  as  reliable 
as  it  was  possible  to  obtain  for  such  a  survey  as  this.  During  the  period 
of  nine  weeks  when  the  men  were  in  the  field,  they  visited  every  dairy 
district  from  which  Rochester  obtains  its  milk  supply.  The  number  of 
districts  visited  and  the  number  of  dairy  farms  in  each  are  shown  in  the 
table  below : 

District.  Number  of  Farms. 

Bliss  24 

Wayne  and  Livingston  Counties 33 

Monroe  County   84 

Total ' .  141 

The  general  summary  of  the  information  obtained  from  these  farms 
is  given  in  'Table  No.  23 : 

TABLE  No.  23 
GENERAL  DATA  FROM  141  FARMS 

Number  of  farms 141 

Number  of  cows  2,314 

Total  milk  produced  (pounds) 14,654,115 

Total  milk  sold  wholesale  (pounds) 14,060,306 

Total  milk  sold  wholesale  (quarts) 6,539,677 

Percent  of  Rochester  supply  furnished  by  141  farms 21% 

(Based  on  average  consumption  of  85,000  quarts  per  day.) 

Total  expenses ., $659,958.06 

Returns  other  than  wholesale  milk 69,911.36 

Net  costs   $590,046.70 

Total  receipts  for  wholesale  milk 471,729.10 


Total  loss  $118,317.60 

Acres  per  farm 131 

Value  per  acre  $158 

Acres  of  pasture  per  farm 28 

Value  of  pasture  per  acre $73 

Average  number  of  cows 16.4 

Value  of  cows  per  head $126 

Production  per  cow  (pounds) 6,333 

It  is  believed  that  the  location  of  the  farms  was  such  that  they  fairly 
represent  the  character  of  the  farms  supplying  milk  to  the  City  of  Roch- 
ester. Information  obtained  from  the  milk  distributors  and  from  the 
Department  of  Health  indicate  that  the  number  of  dairy  farms  supply- 
ing Rochester  milk  varies  from  700  to  800.  The  best  figure  obtainable 
by  this  survey  is  778  dairy  farms. 

The  141  farms  from  which  cost  accounts  were  obtained  are  believed 
to  be  a  sufficient  number  to  furnish  accurately  figures  showing  the  cost 
of  producing  milk  on  the  entire  list  of  farms,  because  they  were  not 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


83 


only  located  in  every  dairy  district,  but  represented  every  type  of  dairy 
farm,  large  and  small.  The  farms  were  not  selected,  but  were  taken  just 
as  they  came  on  the  roads  on  which  the  inspectors  traveled. 

The  cost  of  milk  production  on  all  of  the  farms  has  been  compiled, 
and  the  figures  added  together  to  show  the  cost  of  producing  milk  per 
100  pounds  and  per  quart.  This  summary  is  given  in  Table  No.  24: 

TABLE  No.  24 

SUMMARY  OF  COSTS  OF  PRODUCTION  ON  141  FARMS 
May  1,  1918,  to  May  1,  1919 

Per  Cwt.          Per  Qt. 

Depreciation  on  cows 0756  .00163 

Interest  on  cows  at  6% 1241  .00267 

Grain  and  other  concentrates 1.0721  .02305 

Succulent  feed   6805  .01463 

Hay  and  other  dry  forage 6048  .01300 

Total  feed  except  pasture 2.3574  .05068 

Interest  on  feed  and  supplies  at  6% 0417  .00090 

Pasture    2424  .00521 

Bedding 1651  .00355 

Human  labor  1.2116  .02605 

Horse  labor 0975  .00210 

Use  of  buildings   1422  .00306 

Use  of  equipment   0791  .00170 

Bull  service   .0351  .00075 

Miscellaneous  costs 1219  .00262 

Total  cost  4.6937  .10092 

Returns  except  wholesale  milk 4972  .01069 

Net  cost  (difference) 4.1965  .09023 

Price  received 3.3550  -07214 

LOSS .8415  .01809 

The  significance  of  Table  No.  24  is  that  the  actual  cost  on  all  of 
the  141  farms  visited  for  producing  100  pounds  of  milk  was  $4.19,  or 
$  .09  per  quart.  The  price  received  for  this  milk  during  the  year  was 
only  $3.35  per  100  pounds,  or  $  .072  per  quart,  showing  a  net  loss  to 
these  141  milk  producers  of  $  .84  per  100  pounds,  or  $  .018  per  quart. 

The  figures  in  this  summary  are  obtained  from  the  details  in  the 
report  blanks  and  can  be  best  understood  by  arranging  these  details  in  a 
number  of  ways,  indicated  by  the  tabulations  which  follow.  In  Table 
No.  25  is  shown  the  total  quantity  of  feed  and  of  labor  required  by  each 
cow  per  year,  and  per  100  pounds  of  milk : 


84 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  25 
QUANTITY  OF  FEED  AND  LABOR  REQUIRED 

Per  Cow.  Per  Cwt.  of  Milk. 

Grain  and  other  concentrates 2,635  Ibs.  41.6  Ibs. 

Succulent  feed 10,493  Ibs.  165.7  Ibs. 

Hay  and  other  dry  forage  3,769  Ibs.  59.5  Ibs. 

Human  labor 211  hrs.  3.33  hrs. 

The  number  of  cows  on  the  farms,  their  value  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  May  1st,  1918,  and  the  number  of  cows  purchased,  the  heifers  that 
became  cows,  and  the  value  at  the  end  of  the  year  are  shown  in  Table 
No.  26: 

TABLE  No.  26 

INVENTORIES,  PURCHASES  AND  SALES  OF  COWS 
BEGINNING  OF  YEAR 

Number  Price  Total  Value 

Cows  on  hand  May  1,  1918 2,282  $123.21  $281,160 

Cows  purchased 673              120.05  80,792 

Heifers  that  became  cows 124             101.98  12,645 

Total $374,597 

END  OF  YEAR 

Number  Price  Total  Value 

Cows  on  hand  May  1,  1919 2,306  $130.21  $300,275 

Cows  sold  737  86.06  63,427 

Cows  died  34 

Cow  hides  22  11.84  260.50 

Total $363,962.50 

Value  at  beginning  of  year,  plus  purchases,  plus  heifers  that  became  cows  $374,597.00 
Value  at  end  of  year,  plus  sales 363,962.50 

Depreciation  (difference)   $  10,634.50 

Average  inventory  of  cows — Number 2,314 

Average  inventory  of  cows — Total  value $290,841 .00 

Value  per  head 125.69 

From  these  figures  it  appears  that  the  depreciation  was  $10,634.50 
on  all  the  farms  for -the  year  covered  by  the  inquiry.  This  depreciation 
is  the  amount  of  money  required  for  replacement,  or  to  make  up  for 
losses  through  the  sale  or  death  of  animals,  and  the  cost  of  keeping  the 
herds  up  to  their  full  production.  The  inventory  showed  an  average  of 
2,314  cows,  and  the  value  placed  on  these  animals  by  the  owners  was 
$290,841.00,  or  $125.69  per  head.  These  figures  differ  from  the  total 
value  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  because  of  the  shifting 
of  cows  during  the  year,  and  because  of  the  buying  of  fresh  cows  and 
the  selling  of  dry  ones. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  85 

From  a  business  standpoint  it  is  of  some  interest  to  know  the  amount 
of  money  invested  in  land  and  buildings  on  these  farms.  The  number  of 
acres  used  for  dairy  purposes  cannot  be  accurately  separated  from  the 
total  number  of  acres  in  the  farms,  therefore,  the  total  acres  in  these 
farms  is  the  figure  given.  The  investment  in  land  and  buildings  is  shown 
in  Table  No.  27: 

TABLE  No.  27 
INVESTMENT  IN  LAND,  BUILDINGS,  ETC. 

Acres  in  farms 185155 

Average  value  per  acre $158 

Total  value  of  farms s $2,926,828 

Acres  of  pasture 3  499  5 

Value  of  pasture  per  acre '$73 

Total  value  of  pasture $254  025 

Acres  of  pasture  rented  in  addition  to  the  above '470 

Value  of  buildings  used  by  cattle $290,058 

Value  of  equipment  used  by  cows 41, '956.23 

Value  of  average  feed  and  supplies  on  hand  for  cows. .  97,652 

The  totals  of  the  amount  of  grain  and  other  concentrates  fed  are 
shown  in  Table  No.  28: 

TABLE  No.  28 
GRAIN  AND  OTHER  CONCENTRATES 

Per  Cent,  of 

Total  Price         Total 

Amount    Pounds.  Per  Ton.       Value. 

Home  grown  grain 19%        1,176,094  $45.02  $28,240.06 

Wet  brewers' grain  (reduced  to  dry  basis)       17%        1,024,159  24.65  12,623.80 

Other  purchased  grains 64%        3,898,253  56.38  109,883.15 

Total 6,098,506     $49.44    $150,747.01 

It  is  important  to  note  that  19%  of  the  grain  used  was  home  grown. 
The  price  per  ton  on  the  home  grown  grain  was  based  on  the  market 
price  of  such  grains,  less  the  cost  of  marketing.  The  wet  brewers'  grains 
were  used  to  an  unusual  extent  on  some  of  these  farms.  The  quantity 
was  reduced  to  a  dry  basis  in  order  that  the  amount  and  price  might  be 
fairly  compared  with  the  other  grains  fed.  The  low  cost  per  ton  of 
these  brewers'  grains  is  offset  to  a  considerable  extent  by  the  increased 
cost  of  hauling  over  the  cost  of  hauling  other  purchased  grains.  In  re- 
ducing the  wet  grains  to  dry  grains,  the  basis  used  was  65  Ibs.  of  wet 
grains  per  bushel,  and  %  Ib.  of  dry  matter  to  each  Ib.  of  wet  grains. 

The  estimates  obtained  for  succulent  feeds,  hay  and  other  dry 
forage,  were  based  on  the  quantities  used  according  to  the  best  recollec- 
tions of  the  producers,  and  on  the  prices  per  ton  at  which  these  products 
are  commonly  rated.  The  figures  for  succulent  feed  are  given  in  Table 
No.  29,  and  for  hay  and  other  dry  forage  in  Table  No.  30 : 


86 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 


Corn  silage 

Soiling  crops,  roots,  etc, 


TABLE  No.  29 
SUCCULENT  FEED 

Per  Cent,  of 

Total  Amount.  Tons. 

83%  10,066 

17%  2,074 


Total 


12,140 


Price 

Per  Ton. 

$8.11 

6.79 

$7.88 


TABLE  No.  30 
HAY  AND  OTHER  DRY  FORAGE 


Hay  and  Alfalfa 

Corn  Stover   

Straw,  Bean  Pods,  etc, 

Total.. 


Per  Cent,  of 
Total  Amount. 
...      76% 
17% 
7% 


Tons. 

3,328 
741 
292 


Price 
Per  Ton. 

$22.78 
8.88 
9.08 


4,361         $19.50 


Total 

Value. 

$81,596.00 

14,077.00 

$95,673.00 


Total 
Value. 
$75,803.68 
6,578.50 
2,650.50 

$85,032.68 


The  labor  of  the  operator  or  owner  and  other  unpaid  labor  is  charged 
on  the  basis  of  the  estimates  furnished  by  the  operators.  The  figures  for 
paid  labor  are  made  up  from  the  actual  wages  paid  plus  the  cost  of  board, 
and  the  number  of  hours  the  labor  was  employed.  The  rates  per  hour, 
when  one  considers  the  wages  paid  in  other  lines  of  industry,  are  certainly 
not  too  high.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  average  loss  sustained  of  $  .8415 
per  100  pounds  subtracted  from  the  total  labor  charge  of  $1^116  in 
Table  No.  24  shows  that  all  the  labor  actually  received  after  paying  all 
other  costs  was  only  $  .11  per  hour  for  their  labor  instead  of  $  .349  as 
charged  in  Table  No.  31 : 

TABLE  No.  31 
HUMAN  LABOR 


Operator  :  . 

Per  Cent,  of 
Total  Labor. 
51% 

Hours. 
246909 

Other  unpaid  labor  

13% 

65443 

Paid  labor   

36% 

176134 

Rate 

Per  Hour. 
$  .416 
.280 
.281 


Total 

Value. 

$102,606.44 

18,338.03 

49,413.52 


Total 


488,486 


$  .349 


$170,357.99 

The  total  value  of  the  operators'  labor,  as  shown  in  Table  No.  9, 
was  $102,606.44.  The  value  of  the  other  unpaid  labor  was  $18,338.03, 
making  a  total  for  unpaid  labor  of  $120,944.47.  The  total  losses  as  shown 
in  Table  No.  23,  were  $118,317.60.  This  assumes  that  all  labor  was  paid. 
If  the  unpaid  labor  amounting  to  $120,944.47  was  not  included  in  the  ex- 
penses, it  would  leave  to  the  farmer  a  profit  of  $2,626.87  to  apply  to  the 
wages  of  the  unpaid  labor.  The  number  of  hours  the  unpaid  labor  was 
employed  was  312,352,  as  shown  in  Table  No.  31.  If  only  $2,626.87  was 
available  to  pay  for  this,  the  unpaid  labor  actually  received  $  .0084  per 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  87 

hour,  or  less  than  Ic  per  hour.  If  the  labor  of  the  farmer's  wife  and 
children  was  not  charged  for,  and  all  of  the  $2,626.87  above  other  ex- 
penses, including  paid  labor,  remained  for  the  operators  themselves,  each 
operator  would  have  received  $  .0106  per  hour  for  his  own  labor. 

TABLE  No.  32 
RETURNS  EXCEPT  MILK   SOLD  WHOLESALE 

Amount.  Price.  Value. 

Appreciation  on  Cows 

Milk  used  by  Families 160,223  qts.  $.071  $11,374.82 

Milk  Retailed,  used  for  butter  and  fed  to  stock  118,869  qts.  .070  8,268.43 

Manure  recovered 20,612  tons  1.77  36,429.00 

Feed  bags  . .  . .  627.00 

Calves  born  (value  at  birth) 1,831  7.22  13,211.75 


Total $69,911.00 

Table  No.  32  shows  the  receipts  from  other  sources  than  milk.  If 
there  were  appreciation  or  increased  value  in  cows  it  would  appear  in 
this  list  of  items.  It  is  set  down  as  one  of  the  items,  but  no  figures  are 
placed  opposite  this  item,  for  the  reason  that  there  was  no  appreciation  on 
the  farms  as  a  whole. 

The  milk  used  by  the  farmers'  families  is  charged  for  at  the  average 
League  price  for  the  year.  The  slight  difference  between  this  figure  and 
the  figure  actually  received,  as  shown  in  Table  No.  24,  is  more  than  made 
up  by  the  cost  of  hauling  milk  to  the  shipping  station  for  the  milk  which 
was  shipped  from" the  farm.  Some  small  quantities  of  milk  were  retailed 
by  farmers  themselves,  and  these  amounts  are  included  in  the  receipts. 

The  producing  territory  was  divided  into  three  regions  because  the 
character  of  the  farms  semed  to  indicate  a  natural  division  of  this  kind. 

The  more  important  points  of  difference  between  the  character  of  the 
farms  in  these  regions  is  shown  in  Table  No.  33. 

TABLE  No.  33 
COMPARISON  OF  CONDITIONS  IN  THREE  DAIRY  DISTRICTS 

Farms  Dairy  Cows  Acres  Value  Acres  of  Value 

Region.                              Visited  Per  Farm,  of  Land.  Per  Acre.  Pasture.  Acre. 

Kiss,  N.  Y.  . . . 24  15.8            180.3  $  54.00  60  $32.00 

Wayne  and  Livingston 

Counties  .                          33  22               179.2  134.00  33  86.00 

Monroe  County 84  14.3              98.5  197.00  17  109.00 

The  farms  located  in  the  Bliss  regions  are  for  the  most  part  devoted 
to  milk  production,  having  comparatively  small  sources  of  income  outside 
of  the  income  from  milk.  The  farms  in  Monroe  County  are  many  of 
them  engaged  in  the  production  of  apples  and  other  fruit  as  well  as 
general  farm  crops  and  are  located  near  enough  to  the  City  of  Rochester 
to  make  it  convenient  to  haul  considerable  quantities  of  wet  brewers' 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


grains  from  Rochester  to  the  farm.    The  differences  in  the  cost  of  pro- 
ducing milk  in  these  three  regions  are  shown  in  Table  No.  34,  and  in 

Tables  Nos.  35  and  36  are  shown  the  quantities  of  feed  and  labor  per 
cow  and  per  100  pounds  of  milk  in  each  of  these  three  regions. 

TABLE  No.  34 
COMPARISON  OF  COSTS  OF  PRODUCTION  BY  REGIONS 

Wayne  and  Monroe 
Bliss.      Livingston  Counties.     County. 

Number  of  Farms 24                        33  84 

Summary  of  Costs  Per  Cwt.  of  Milk : 

Depreciation,  on  Cows $  .0785                 $  .0715  $  .0772 

Interest  on  Cows  at  6% 1806                    .1247  .1 135 

Grain  and  other  Concentrates 1.2054                     .8919  1.1411 

Succulent  Feed 4143                    .7295  .7040 

Hay  and  other  Dry  Forage 1.0608                    .5383  .5553 

Total  Feed  except  Pasture $2.6805                 $2.1597  $2.4004 

Interest  on  Feed  and  Supplies  at  6% .          .0424                    .0439  0404 

Pasture 3207                    .2395  .2295 

Bedding. 1165                    .1576  .1780 

Human  Labor 1.5391                   1.0624  1.2287 

Horse  Labor 1471                     .0684  .1034 

Use  of  Buildings 1589                    .1207  .1503 

Use  of  Equipment 0713                     .0710  .0847 

Bull  Service 0907                    .0367  .0241 

Miscellaneous  Costs .1331                     .0943  .1342 

Total  Cost 5.5594                  4.2504  4.7644 

Returns  except  Whilesale  Milk,  per  cwt. .          .6799                    :4561  .4849 

Net  Cost  (Difference) 4.8795                  3.7943  4.2795 

Price  received  per  Cwt.  Milk 2.9093                  3.3963  3.4157 

Loss  per  Cwt.  Milk 1.9702                    .3980  ~£638 

Production  per  Cow  (pounds) 4334                     6053  7133 

TABLE  No.  35 
QUANTITIES  OF  FEED  AND  LABOR  PER  COW 

Wayne  and  Monroe 

~     .          ,      .                                                        Bliss.    Livingston  Counties.  County. 

Gram  and  other  concentrates 1,833  Ibs.             1,867  Ibs.  3  356  Ibs 

Succulent  Feed 4,673  Ibs.           11,949  Ibs.  11  441  Ibs' 

Hay  and  other  Dry  Forage 4,707  Ibs.            3,346  Ibs.  3,731  Ibs! 

Human  Labor 178  hrs.              183  hrs.  239  hrs. 

TABLE  No.  36 
QUANTITIES  OF  FEED  AND  LABOR  PER  100  LBS.  MILK 

t  Wayne  and  Monroe 

r     .          .      .                                                        Bliss.    Livingston  Counties.  County. 

Gram  and  other  concentrates 42.3  Ibs.             30.8  Ibs  470  Ibs 

Succulent  Feed  . . . . . 107.8  Ibs.            197.4  Ibs.  160.4  Ibs 

Hay  and  other  dry  forage 108.6  Ibs.              55.3  Ibs.  52.3  Ibs. 

Human  Labor 4.10  hrs.             3.03  hrs.  3.35  hrs. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  89 

It  has  often  been  pointed  out  in  the  past  that  large  producing  cows 
produce  milk  more  cheaply  than  small  producing  cows. 

It  was  recognized  that  one  of  the  most  important  branches  of  the 
study  of  milk  production  should  aim  to  bring  out  this  difference.  There- 
fore, all  of  the  farms  have  been  classified  according  to  the  volume  of 
milk  which  they  produced  per  cow  each  year,  from  less  than  4,000  Ibs. 
per  cow  to  more  than  9,000  pounds  per  year.  Their  average  production, 
the  number  of  farms  in  each  group,  the  average  number  of  cows  per 
farm  and  the  cost  of.  production  per  100  pounds  and  per  quart  of  milk, 
are  all  shown  in  Table  No.  37 : 

TABLE  No.  37 
EFFECT  OF  PRODUCTION  PER  COW  ON  COST  OF  PRODUCTION 


Group.                     Average  Pounds. 
4000  or  under                           2841 

Farms. 
9 
16 
27 
39 
23 
15 
12 

Per  Farm.      Per  Cwt.            Per  Qt. 
17.8              $7.103              $0.1527 
18.4                4.884                  .1050 
17.9                4.365                  .0939 
16.3                4.024                  .0865 
14.6                4.011                  .0862 
17.3                3.715                  .0799 
12.1                3.898                  .0838 

4001  -  5000 

4674 

S001  -  6000     

5446 

6001  -  7000 

6472 

7001  -  8000 

7487 

8001  -  9000  

8326 

Over  9000   . 

9751 

It  is  obvious,  that  as  in  past  investigations  of  this  kind,  the  small 
producing  cows  produce  milk  at  a  much  greater  expense  than  the  large 
producing  cows.  Thus,  in  the  last  column,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  farms 
having  cows  producing  an  average  of  less  than  4,000  pounds  per  year, 
produce  milk  at  a  cost  of  more  than  15  cents  per  quart,  while  farms  having 
cows  producing  an  average  between  8,000  and  9,000  pounds  a  year,  pro- 
duce milk  at  a  cost  of  about  8  cents.  Cows  producing  over  9,000  pounds 
per  year,  apparently  produce  milk  at  a  slightly  higher  cost  than  cows  be- 
tween 8,000  and  9,000  pounds.  This  irregularity  is  a  circumstance  which 
may  be  due  to  unusual  irregularity  in  costs,  or  to  the  fact  that  there  were 
too  few  farms  in  the  last  group. 

In  Table  No.  38  is  shown  the  relation  of  the  production  per  cow  to 
the  hours  of  human  labor  and  to  the  cost  of  labor : 

TABLE  No.  38 
RELATION   OF   PRODUCTION   PER   COW   TO  LABOR 

HOURS  OF  HUMAN  LABOR 

Production  Per  PerlOOLbs.  Rate     .  Rate 

Per  Cow.  Cow  Milk.  Charged.  Received. 

4000  or  under 170  6.0  $0.363  -W%>\ 

4001  -  5000 ! 192  4.1  .361 

5001-6000 196  3.6  .347  +  .085 

6001-7000 213  3.3  .330  +  .137 

7001.8000 233  3.1  .349  .152 

8001  -  9000 221  2.6 

Over  9000  ...    266      2.7        .387      +  .232 


90  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

In  Table  No.  38  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  number  of  hours  of  human 
labor  per  cow  increases  gradually  with  the  increase  in  the  volume  of 
milk  produced.  This  is  because  of  the  length  of  time  required  to  milk 
large  producing  cows,  and  because  the  feeding  and  other  services  require 
more  time  for  large  producing  cows  than  for  small  producing  cows.  The 
use  of  brewers'  grains  on  the  farms  with  larger  producing  cows  required 
more  time  for  the  hauling  of  grain.  On  the  other  hand,  when  these  hours 
of  labor  are  compared  with  the  quantity  of  milk  produced,  the  opposite 
condition  is  true.  It  is  seen  from  Column  No.  3  that  the  hours  of  labor 
per  100  pounds  of  milk  are  very  much  larger  with  small  producing  cows 
than  the  hours  of  labor  per  100  pounds  of  milk  for  the  large  producing 
cows.  In  shoct,  less  labor  is  required  in  connection  with  the  production 
of  the  same  quantity  of  milk  from  large  producing  cows  than  small  pro- 
ducing cows. 

In  the  last  two  columns  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  rate  charged  for 
the  human  labor  was  nearly  the  same  for  all  cows ;  but  that  the  rate  re- 
ceived increased  from  a  loss  of  29  cents  per  hour  to  a  maximum  gain  of 
25.3  cents.  While  this  did  not  pay  the  cost  of  the  labor,  yet  the  last 
column  shows  that  the  increase  in  the  volume  of  milk  produced  per  cow 
brought  in  a  much  larger  labor  income. 

The  quantity  of  feed  required  to  produce  100  pounds  of  milk  is 
shown  for  each  of  the  same  groups  of  farms  producing  from  less  than 
4,000  to  over  9,000  pounds  per  cow  annually,  in  Table  No.  39 : 

TABLE  No.  39 
RELATION  OF  PRODUCTION  PER  COW  TO  FEEDING 

POUNDS  OF  GRAIN  POUNDS  SUCCULENT  FEED  POUNDS  DRY  FORAGE 

Production  Per  Per IOC libs.  Per.  PerlOOlbs.  Per  PerlOOlbs. 

Per  Cow.  Cow.  Milk.  Cow.  Milk.  Cow.  Milk. 

4000  or  under  1381  48.6  5194  1828  4738  1668 

4001-5000  1661  35.5  7087  5L6  4752  017 

5001-6000  2023  37.1  11285  2072  3199  587 

6001-7000  2480  38.3  11263  174.0  3410  527 

7001-8000  3250  43.6  10657  143.1  4074  547 

8001-9000  4342  52.1  12880  154.7  3548  426 

9001  and  over  4245  43.5  12578  129.0  3874  397 

Table  No.  39  shows  clearly  that  while  the  pounds  of  grain  per  cow 
increases  with  increased  production,  the  pounds  of  grain  per  100  pounds 
of  milk  are  approximately  the  same.  The  pounds  of  succulent  feed  also 
increase  gradually  with  the  production  per  cow;  but  decrease  per  100 
pounds  of  milk  produced.  The  pounds  of  dry  forage  per  cow  diminish 
with  an  increase  in  production  and  also  to  a  much  larger  extent  diminish 
per  100  pounds  of  milk.  The  number  of  cows  in  each  of  these  groups  and 
•  the  quantity  of  milk  produced  by  them  as  well  as  the  percentage  of  the 
total  milk  sold  to  the  City  of  Rochester  in  each  group  is  shown  in 
Table  No.  40: 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER       91 

TABLE  No.  40 
PRODUCTION  PER  COW  AND  THE  TOTAL  MILK  SUPPLY 

Production                   Number  of  Total  Number           Milk  Sold  Per  Cent,  of 

Per  Cow.                 Cows  in  Group,    of  Cows.  Wholesale.  Total  Milk  Sold. 

4000  or  under 160  6.9%                  419,182  Qts.  3.0% 

4001  -  5000 294  12.7%  1,306,895  Qts.  9.3% 

5001  -  6000 483  20.9%  2,509,025  Qts.  17.8% 

6001  -  7000 637  27.5%  3,967,796  Qts.  28.2% 

7001  -  8000 336  14.5%  2,417,615  Qts.  17.2% 

8001-9000 259  11.2%  2,070,025  Qts.  14.7% 

Over  9000   145  6.3%  1,369,768  Qts.  9.7% 

From  Table  No.  40  it  appears  that  28.2  per  cent,  of  all  the  milk 
supply  of  Rochester  is  furnished  by  cows  producing  between  6,000  and 
7,000  pounds  of  milk  yearly  and  that  this  is  the  largest  group  both  in 
respect  to  farms  and  in  respect  to  cows  producing  milk  for  Rochester. 

One  of  the  influences  which  is  a  most  important  factor  in  the  cost 
of  milk  production  and  which  has  not  received  the  recognition  that  it 
deserves,  is  the  number  of  cows  in  a  dairy  herd.  The  volume  of  milk 
produced  by  each  cow  has  been  given  an  immense  amount  of  study  by 
dairy  colleges  and  dairy  farmers.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  com- 
monly assumed  that  cows  of  small  production  would  be  unprofitable,  re- 
gardless of  the  number  of  such  animals  in  a  dairy  herd.  It  must  be 
recognized  that  the  "boarder"  cows,  or  cows  producing  less  milk  than  will 
pay  their  expense,  are  always  a  loss.  On  the  other  hand,  the  number  of 
cows  in  a  herd,  by  increasing  the  volume  of  milk  produced,  reduce  to  a 
great  extent  the  cost  of  the  milk,  correspondingly  reduces  the  loss  on 
such  boarder  cows.  The  effect  of  the  number  of  cows  on  the  cost  of 
production  is  shown  in  Table  No.  41  : 

TABLE  No.  41 
EFFECT  OF  NUMBER  OF  COWS  ON  COST  OF  PRODUCTION 

NUMBER  OF  Cows.  Number  Production  COST  OF  PRODUCTION. 

Group.         Average.  of  Farms.  Per  Cow.  Per  Cwt.  Per  Qt. 

Under  10          7.7               24               6,635               $5.22  $0.112 

10  -  14           11.9              44              6,846                4.41      -  .095 

15  -  19           16.1              36              6,507                4.14  .089 

20  -  29           22.6               27               6,080                4.20  .090 

30  or  over     41.6               10               5,682                 3.47  .075 

From  the  above  table  it  appears  that  there  were  24  dairy  farms  hav- 
ing herds  averaging  7.7  cows,  and  that  these  individual  cows  produced 
an  average  of  6,635  pounds  per  year  at  a  cost  of  $5.22  per  100  pounds  or 
11.2  cents  per  quart.  Contrasted  with  this,  on  10  farms  averaging  41.6 
cows,  producing  only  5,882  pounds  each,  the  cost  of  milk  production  was 
only  $3.47  per  100  pounds,  or  7.5  cents  per  quart. 

The  effect  of  the  number  of  cows  on  labor,  buildings  and  equipment 
cost  is  shown  in  Table  No.  42 : 


92 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  42 

EFFECT  OF  NUMBER  OF  COWS  ON  LABOR,  BUILDING   AND 
EQUIPMENT  COSTS 


Hours 

Rate 

Building 

Equipment 

Number 

Hours. 

Per  Cwt. 

Rate 

Received 

Cost 

Cost 

of  Cows. 

Per  Cow. 

Milk. 

Charged. 

Per  Hour. 

Per  Cow. 

Per  Cow. 

Under  10 

276 

4.16 

.368 

—.067 

$14.68 

$5.10 

10  -  14 

246 

3.60 

.359 

—.074 

10.15 

6.19 

15  -  19 

217 

3.33 

.362 

—.139 

9.70 

4.60 

20  -  29 

194 

3.19 

.336 

—.080 

7.61 

4.79 

30  or  over 

155 

2.72 

.310 

—.293 

4.09 

3.23 

From  Table  No.  42  it  is  clear  that  the  number  of  hours  of  labor  per 
cow  is  greatly  diminished  by  increasing  the  number  of  cows  in  a  herd, 
thus  reducing  the  labor  cost.  The  number  of  hours  of  labor  per  100 
pounds  of  milk  is  also  diminished  to  a  marked  degree  with  an  increase  in 
the  number  of  cows  per  herd.  While  the  receipts  for  labor  per  hour 
are  greatly  increased,  the  cost  of  buildings  per  cow  and  the  cost  of  equip- 
ment per  cow  are  greatly  diminished  by  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
cows.  This  simply  means  that  increase  in  the  volume  of  business  result- 
ing from  large  herds  reduces  all  of  the  costs. 

The  number  of  cows  contained  in  each  of  the  herds  of  different  sizes 
and  their  percentage  of  the  total,  the  quantity  of  milk  produced  by  the 
herds  of  different  sizes  and  its  percentage  of  the  total,  are  shown  in 
Table  No.  43 : 

TABLE  No.  43 
NUMBER  OF  COWS   AND  TOTAL   MILK  SUPPLY 

Per  Cent,  of 

Number  Number  of      Total  Number  Total  Milk  Per  Cent.  Total 

of  Cows.  Cows  in  Group.      of  Cows.  Sold  Wholesale.  Wholesale  Milk. 

Under  10  184                    8%  1,130,058  Ibs.  8% 

10  -  14. ...  524                  23%  3,417,332  Ibs.  24% 

15  -  19. ...  579                  25%  3,632,938  Ibs.  26% 

20  -  29. ...  611                  26%  3,581,400  Ibs.  26% 

30  or  over  416                  18%  2,298,578  Ibs.  16% 

A  review  of  the  figures  shown  in  Tables  Nos.  37,  40  and  41  indicates 
that  if  the  dairy  herds  averaging  less  than  5,000  pounds  of  milk  per  cow 
were  eliminated,  it  would  eliminate  12.3  per  cent,  of  the  supply  and  milk 
which  now  costs  from  10  to  15  cents  per  quart  to  produce.  If  all  herds 
with  less  than  10  cows  were  eliminated,  it  would  remove  8  per  cent,  of  the 
supply  and  milk  now  costing  11.2  cents  per  quart  to  produce. 

HEARINGS  ON  THE  COST  OF  PRODUCTION 
In  determining  the  cost  of  production  for  Rochester  one  branch  of 
the  investigation  had  to  do  with  the  securing  of  information  from  wit- 
nesses regarding  the  cost  of  production  on  dairy  farms  operated  by  them. 

\ 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  93 

These  witnesses  were  dairy  farmers  producing  milk  for  the  City  of 
Rochester,  who  were  selected  by  the  local  officers  of  the  producers'  or- 
ganization, known  as  the  Dairymen's  League.  The  object  in  permitting 
the  Dairymen's  League  to  select  their  own  witnesses  was  in  order  that 
they  might  present  their  own  case  to  the  Survey  in  their  own  manner  and 
from  their  own  point  of  view.  The  possibility  of  their  purposely  choosing 
witnesses  who  would  testify  to  costs  higher  than  the  average  cost  of  Roch- 
ester producers  was  fully  recognized.  For  this  reason  the  director  of 
the  Survey  was  prepared  to  receive  these  costs  only  on  the  basis  of  the 
producers'  own  selection,  with  the  understanding  that  so  far  as  the  Sur- 
vey was  concerned  its  main  dependence  would  be  placed  upon  producers' 
costs  secured  through  the  Survey's  own  investigators. 

This  testimony  of  these  witnesses  in  so  far  as  it  referred  to  special 
cost  items  and  the  total  cost  of  producing  milk  on  their  farms,  is  given  in 
part  below.  This  testimony  is  not  given  in  full  as  much  of  it  had  to  do 
with  discussions  not  directly  concerned  with  cost  items.  Portions  of  the 
testimony  which  are  abstracted  were  the  portions  of  greatest  importance 
to  the  Survey.  % 

FREEMAN  GILMORE,  produced  as  a  witness  on  behalf  of  the  Dairy- 
men's League,  first  being  duly  sworn,  examined  by  Mr.  Fuller,  testified: 

Q.     You  live  where  ? 

A.     I  live  in  the  Town  of  York. 

Q.     And  what  is  your  business  ? 

A.     Farming. 

(Q.     And  how  many  cows  do  you  keep  ? 
A.     From  45  to  50. 
Q.     And  your  milk  is  sold  where  ? 
A.     In  Rochester. 
Q.     And  it  is  shipped  in,  is  it? 
A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  made  some  figures  as  to  the  cost  of  production,  have  you 
not? 

»A.     Yes,  sir. 
Q.     How  large  is  your  farm  ? 
A.     433  acres.     I  might  state  right  here  that  the  farm  is  divided  by 
a  highway,  and  that  the  dairy  barns  are  on  one  side  by  themselves,  and 
our  dwelling  house  and  horse  barns,  etc.,  are  on  the  other  side  of  the 
road. 

Q.     How  much  do  the  oats  total  ? 
A.     $312.50. 
Q.     Cotton  seed  meal  ? 

A.  $61.80.  Now,  then  there  was  12,024  pounds  there,  $211.01,  that 
was  not  bought  in  car  load  lots  but  at  a  local  mill,  but  the  price  was 


94  MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 

the  wholesale  price.  And  then  I  bought  a  bran  substitute,  27,760  pounds 
at  $33.00,  total  $459.04.  Then  we  bought  25,700  pounds  of  oil  meal  at 
$51.50  and  that  came  to  $663.93.  Might  add  we  hauled  the  above  feed, 
$78.00.  Now,  then,  I  fed  in  hay,  the  following:  75  tons  at  $18.00, 
$1,350.00,  and  there  was  288  tons  of  ensilage,  which  I  estimated  at  its 
feeding  value,  $6.00,  $1,628.00;  and  then  30  tons  of  straw  at  $5.00, 
$150.00.  Now  then,  the  total  hours  of  labor  spent  on  the  cows;  one  man 
I  paid  $60.00  a  month  and  boarded  him,  and  I  put  it  in  at  $900.00.  There 
is  another  man  I  paid  $780.00,  and  one  man  milked  mornings,  $109.50. 
Now,  then,  I  had  another  charge  of  a  man,  $600.00,  I  have  had  every 
morning  to  see  that  the  milk  is  properly  cooled  and  looked  after.  There 
is  a  rent  of  land  for  pasture  purposes ;  I  estimate  that  it  would  take  3 
acres  for  a  cow,  $15.00  an  acre,  makes  a  total  of  $700.00.  I  have  aver- 
aged taxes  on  the  entire  farm  and  I  figured,  I  think,  $1.13  an  acre,  and 
that  is  $158.20. 

Q.     That  is  charged  to  the  cattle  ? 

A.  Yes.  Now,  then,  in  the  use  of  the  dairy  buildings;  there  is  3 
silos  and  the  dairy  house,  cattle  barn,  hay  and  grain  barn,  and  an  ice 
house,  and  a  shed  for  sawdust.  I  estimate  the  value  of  that  at  $10,000.00, 
about  6  per  cent,  interest  on  it,  $600.00,  and  a  depreciation  of  4  per  cent., 
$400.00.  The  insurance  on  it  for  3  years  is  $165.00;  that  makes  an  aver- 
age of  $55.00  a  year.  I  have  a  list  here  of  equipment:  57  eight  gallon 
cans;  4  five  gallon  cans;  8  pails,  $1.25,  $10.00;  milk  wagons,  $110.00;  3 
shovels,  $1.75  each,  $5.25;  1  shovel  at  $1.00;  3  brooms,  etc.  I  put  the 
total  depreciation  on  that  at  $201.33. 

Q.     What  did  you  put  the  total  value  ? 

A.  $604.00.  Then  I  had  an  investment  in  cows  of  48  cows  at 
$150.00  each,  figures  $7,200.00;  the  interest  on  them  at  6  per  cent,  is 
$432.00  and  the  depreciation  less  the  salvage  is  $1,152;  and  one  bull  at 
$150.00,  and  charged  interest  on  him  at  $9.00;  on  the  water  supply, 
which  consists  of  tile  and  pipe  lines  and  derrick  and  wind-mill,  gas  engine, 
engine  house,  hydrants,  etc.  I  estimated  the  cost  of  and  placed  them  at 
$1,700.00,  and  the  interest  at  $102.00;  depreciation  at  7  per  cent.,  $112.00; 
gasoline,  55  gallons  at  15^4-  There  is  a  slight  discrepancy  on  that  be- 
cause I  estimated  that  about  70  per  cent,  of  the  water  supply  went  to 
the  barn ;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  think  90  per  cent,  of  that  went  to  the 
cow  barn;  it  did  not  alter  the  figures  materially,  but  I  have  not  seen 
these  figures  until  this  afternoon,  going  over  them  a  second  time;  but 
the  water  supply  for  the  entire  farm,  I  figured  it  at  70  per  cent ;  I  think 
that  is  a  low  estimate.  Now,  under  miscellaneous,  there  was,  insurance 
on  cows,  $2,000.00,  $12.00;  salt,  $18.00;  lanterns,  6  lanterns,  $7.50;  hot 
water  heater,  $15.00;  I  figured  the  interest  and  depreciation  at  $4.40;  7 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER  95 

cords  wood,  $56.00 ;  $9.30  for  cleanser  powder,  and  fly  spray,  $10.00,  and 
lime  $10.50,  and  the  cooling  tank  and  drinking  trough,  $85.00,  10  per 
cent,  $8.50;  sawdust,  $65.00;  depreciation,  $20.00;  31^  tons  of  ice, 
$118.13;  freight  on  ice,  $45.33;  hauling  ice,  $42.00;  total,  $404.94. 

Q.     Your  next  item  is  for  your  windmill  and  tank,  etc.? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  And  you  figure  your  interest  and  depreciation  on  that  at 
$160.00? 

A.     70  per  cent,  on  the  water  supply  would  make  that  $160.00. 

Q.     And  that  makes  a  total  expenditure  of  how  much  ? 

A.     $12,305.48. 

Q.     Now,  your  credit  on  here  is  what  ? 

A.  420  tons  of  manure  at  $1.00  a  ton,  $420.00;  and  43  calves  at 
$7.00,  $301.00. 

Q.     And  you  produced  how  many  pounds  of  milk? 

A.     279,078  pounds. 

Qi     And  that  is  approximately  5,600  pounds  per  cow? 

A.     Approximately. 

Q.     How  much  do  you  figure  your  milk  cost  you  ? 

A.     Four  dollars  and  a  fraction. 

Q.     Around  $4.30? 

A.     Around  there. 

Q.     Have  you  calculated  anything  for  your  own  service?  , 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     How  much? 

A.     $600.00.     I  figure  my  time  is  worth  more  than  that. 

Q.     About  how  much  would  that  be  an  hour? 

A.     I  cannot  tell  you  how  much. 

Q.   'Would  it  be  thirty  cents  an  hour? 

A.     For  a  year  ? 

Q.     Yes,  on  an  average  right  straight  through? 

A.     About  two  dollars  a  day,  would  it  not  ? 

Q.     About  a  ten-hour  day? 

A.     I  ought  to  be  worth  two  dollars  a  day,  I  think. 

PHELPS  HOPKINS,  produced  as  a  witness,  first  being  duly  sworn, 
examined  by  Mr.  Fuller,  testified : 

Q.     Mr.  Hopkins,  you  reside  where?       .  * 

A.     Pittsford. 

Q.     What  is  your  business? 

A.     Farmer. 

Q.     And  you  have  been  engaged  in  that  business  all  your  life  ? 

A.     Why,  no,  I  lived  on  a  farm  all  my  life. 


96 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

Q.     Will  you  describe  your  farm? 

A.  220  acres,  general  farming;  about  35  acres  of  woodland;  about 
eight  acres  pasture,  and  the  rest  of  the  farm  is  used  in  growing  wheat, 
silage,  corn,  some  potatoes,  oats  and  some  barley,  and  last  year  I  aver- 
aged thirty-two  cows. 

Q.     About  what  is  the  value  of  your  farm,  Mr.  Hopkins,  per  acre? 

A.     About  $200.00. 

Q.     And  that  is  located  how  far  from  Rochester? 

A.     Five  miles  and  a  half  from  the  city  line,  Cobb's  Hill. 

Q.     You  ship  your  milk  into  Rochester  how  ? 

A.     By  trucks,  automobile  trucks. 

Q.  You  have  kept  some  accounts  as  to  the  cost  of  the  production 
of  milk,  have  you  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  And  you  have  brought  here  in  court  your  books  showing  your 
accounting  system? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     Will  you  describe  how  you  kept  those  accounts  ? 

A.  Yes.  At  the  first  of  the  year  all  the  books  start,  March  15, 
1918. 

Q.     Your  fiscal  year  ends  the  15th  of  March. 

A.  Yes.  We  take  an  inventory  of  everything  on  the  farm  at  the 
beginning  of  the  year,  including  everything  on  the  farm,  horses,  cattle, 
equipment;  all  equipment  is  listed  in  detail;  the  same  with  individual 
animals ;  all  food  on  hand,  hay,  straw,  silage,  are  all  inventoried  at  their 
either  appraised  value  or  what  they  are  worth  on  the  market. 

Q.     Are  you  a  Cornell  man  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     What  course? 

A.     Two  years  special  course. 

Q.  And  you  may  also  state  the  method  in  which  you  keep  your 
accounts  during  the  year? 

A.  Yes,  I  will.  A  separate  book;  two  different  books  are  used,^a 
ledger  and  labor  book.  The  ledger  is  composed  of  different  industries 
on  the  farm,  such  as  crops  and  cattle  and  a  lot  of  smaller  industries, 
pumping  water,  etc.  The  labor  book  is  composed  of  the  same  industries 
practically  and  the  labor  each  day  is  written  up ;  how  much  time  is  spent 
on  labor,  man  hours  and  horse  hours.  Also,  a  chore  sheet  is  kept,  which 
is  time  spent  on  the  chores.  Then  at  the  end  of  the  next  year,  the  books 
are  closed  once  a  year,  labor  is  computed  by  hours,  the  cost  per  hour; 
the  total  charge  against  labor,  including  board  as  well  as  the  cash  and 
rent  of  tenant  house,  and  all  those  things  enter  into  it  and  a  charge  of 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  97 

labor  against  it  and  labor  is  computed,  cost  per  hour  and  charged  to 
various  enterprises.  The  same  way  with  horse  labor  and  then  the  in- 
ventories are  balanced  up  and  a  new  set  of  books  started.  That  is  in 
general  the  practice  of  the  books. 

Q.     And  you  start  in  again  after  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Now,  have  you  made  for  me  computations  in  reference  to  the 
production  of  milk? 

A.     I  have. 

Q.     And  you  say,  your  year  begins  and  ends  on  the  15th  of  March? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Your  computation  then  runs  on  quantities  from  the  15th  of 
March,  1918,  to  the  15th  of  March,  1919? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     What  was  your  total  cost? 

A.     $8,961.51. 

Q.     What  were  your  total  credits? 

A.    $7,936.26. 

Q.     And  what  was  your  net  cost  of  milk? 

A.     $4.20  per  hundred. 

Q.     That  was  your  cost? 

A.     That  is  not  last  year's  figures ;  those  are  present  prices. 

Q.     I  mean,  present  prices,  what  was  it? 

A.     $4.20. 

Q.     How  many  pounds  of  milk  did  you  produce? 

A.     188,960. 


IX 

COST  OF  COUNTRY  HAULING 

Each  day  a  large  amount  of  labor  on  the  part  of  dairy  farmers  and 
horses  is  expended  in  hauling  milk  from  the  farms  to  the  point  of  ship- 
ment. For  the  purpose  of  securing  information  as  to  the  number  of  men 
and  horses  employed  in  this  work,  and  the  points  from  which  milk  is 
shipped,  a  form  of  questionnaire  was  prepared  and  mailed  to  all  of  the 
778  dairy  farms  producing  milk  for  Rochester.  Replies  were  received 
by  mail  from  276  producers,  from  which  the  following  information  was 
obtained : 

Number  of  producers 276 

Producers'  own  wagon  to  railroad  platform 163 

Producers'  own  wagon  to  Rochester 10 

By  truck  with  other  farmers  to  railroad  platform 6 

By  truck  with  other  farmers  to  Rochester 64 

By  dealers'  truck  to  Rochester 13 

Shipping  to  Rochester  by  rail 119 

Shipping  to  Rochester  by  trolley 68 

Amount  of  milk  produced  daily 35,565  Qts. 

Amount  of  milk  received  from  producers'  own  wagon  to  railroad  plat- 
form    22,799    " 

Amount  of  milk  received  by  producers'  own  wagon  to  Rochester 1,492 

Amount  of  milk  received  by  truck  with  other  producers  to  railroad 

platform 767 

Amount  of  milk  received  by  truck  with  other  producers  to  Rochester. .  7,313 

Amount  of  milk  received  by  dealers'  trucks  to  Rochester 1,630    ' 

Amount  of  milk  received  by  railroad  to  Rochester 17,420     ' 

Amount  of  milk  received  by  trolley  to  Rochester 7,710    ' 

Amount  of  milk  delivered  by  producers  living  on  trolley  line  (18  men)  1,564    ' 

Although  all  of  the  778  producers  did  not  reply  to  the  questionnaire, 
the  replies  received  from  276  of  them  were  from  every  dairy  district, 
and  it  is  believed  that  these  replies  were  sufficient  in  number  and  suffi- 
ciently well  distributed  to  furnish  a  fair  estimate  as  to  the  labor  per- 
formed in  the  handling  of  milk  from  the  dairy  farms  to  the  point  of  ship- 
ment. It  will  be  noted  from  the  table  that  163  producers  hauled  milk  in 
their  own  wagons  to  the  railroad  platform,  either  the  steam  railroad  or 
the  trolley  railroad,  while  10  producers  hauled  milk  from  their  farms 
directly  into  the  City  of  Rochester,  and  6  producers  hauled  milk  to  the 
railroad  platform  with  other  farmers.  The  number  of  trucks  hauling 
milk  to  Rochester  owned  by  farmers  or  owned  by  dealers  was  not  ob- 
tained. It  is  therefore  not  possible  to  form  an  estimate  as  to  whether 
these  trucks  were  fully  loaded,  or  whether  they  represented  less  than  a 
full  load.  If  we  give  attention  especially  to  the  hauling  of  milk  on  the 
country  end  of  the  line  by  the  farmers  themselves  from  the  reports  of  the 
inspectors,  it  is  estimated  that  the  average  distance  traveled  by  each 
farmer  is  2  miles,  and  that  the  length  of  time  required  for  taking  milk 
out  of  his  milk  house,  loading  it  onto  his  wagon,  hitching  up  his  horse, 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 99 

driving  to  the  shipping  point,  delivering  his  milk,  securing  his  empty 
cans,  returning  to  the  farm  and  unhitching  his  horse,  is  a  total  of  1^ 
•hours.  This  estimate  would  apply  to  the  163  farmers  hauling  milk  in 
their  own  wagons  to  the  railroad  platform.  It  would  also  apply  to  the 
10  farmers  hauling  milk  directly  to  Rochester,  if  we  eliminate  the  length 
of  time  spent  in  hauling  milk  within  the  city  limits.  It  is  fair  to  assume 
of  the  6  farmers  hauling  milk  jointly  not  more  than  3  wagons  would  be 
employed,  and  therefore  only  3  of  these  farmers  would  be  engaged  at  one 
time.  This  would  make  a  total  of  176  farmers  out  of  the  276  from  whom 
reports  were  received  who  were  engaged  daily  in  hauling  milk  from  their 
farms  to  the  shipping  point. 

The  value  of  labor  per  man  hour  is  estimated  at  $  .349,  and  horse 
labor  $  .194,  which  are  the  average  rates  on  the  141  farms  on  which 
cost  of  production  records  were  obtained.  This  makes  $  .543  per  hour 
for  1  man  and  1  horse.  For  \y2  hours,  the  cost  is  $  .814.  If  we  multiply 
this  by  176  farmers,  the  daily  cost  is  $143.26  under  the  present  system  of 
hauling.  If  we  assume  that  the  same  proportion  of  farmers  are  hauling 
milk  in  the  entire  list  a,,  in  the  list  reporting,  it  would  mean  that,  out  of 
the  total  778  farmers,  there  are  496  who  haul  their  own  milk,  and  if  we 
apply  the  same  costs,  the  daily  cost  is  $403.74. 

It  is  recognized  that  from  a  business  standpoint  the  most  economical 
system  of  hauling  is  a  co-operative  system.  Under  this  arrangement 
large  trucks  travel  on  the  main  roads  capable  of  carrying  not  less  than 
30  cans  each,  and  some  of  them  carry  much  larger  loads  than  this.  The 
dairy  farmers  living  on  side  roads,  or  whose  houses  are  located  on  lane- 
ways  back  from  the  main  road,  find  it  necessary  to  hitch  up  a  horse  and 
carry  the  milk  by  wagon  to  the  main  road.  The  farmers  living  directly 
on  the  main  road  may  carry  their  cans  by  hand  to  the  platform.  Such  a 
system  as  this  has  been  adopted  on  a  large  scale  by  many  dairy  districts. 

It  is  estimated  that  a  fair  allowance  for  the  average  time  required 
to  take  milk  out  of  the  milk  house  and  carry  it  to  the  main  road  and  re- 
turn with  empty  cans  would  be  one-half  hour  to  each  farmer.  If  we  use 
the  same  cost  for  man  and  horse,  this  would  amount  to  $  .271  per  half 
hour.  Applying  this  to  the  176  farmers  reported  as  hauling  milk  would 
make  their  daily  costs  for  carrying  milk  from  the  milk  house  to  the  main 
road,  $47.75.  Applying  the  same  figure  to  the  total  number  of  farmers 
estimated  hauling,  which  is  496,  would  make  the  daily  cost  of  carrying 
milk  to  the  main  road  $134.56. 

The  cost  of  trucking  on  the  main  road  in  the  dairy  districts  where 
this  is  performed  is  charged  for  at  the  rate  of  ^c  per  quart  of  milk. 
Applying  this  charge  to  the  milk  handled  by  the  176  farmers  reporting 
would  make  the  daily  cost  of  trucking  on  the  main  road  $62.64.  If  we 


100 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

assume  that  the  same  proportion  of  milk  was  carried  by  the  496  farmers 
estimated  as  hauling,  the  daily  cost  of  trucking  on  the  main  road  for 
their  milk  would  be  $176.53.  This  would  make  the  total  cost  under  a 
co-operative  system  for  the  276  farmers  reporting  $110.39,  and  for  the 
496  estimated  as  hauling,  $311.09,  showing  a  total  daily  saving  over  the 
present  individual  system  for  the  176  farmers  reporting  of  $32.87,  or 
$11,997.55  yearly. 

The  savings  under  the  trucking  system  for  the  496  farmers  estimated 
as  hauling  would  be  daily  $92.65,  or  yearly  $33.817.25. 

It  is  recognized  that  these  figures  are  only  estimates  and  therefore 
not  necessarily  a  close  statement  of  what  actually  could  be  done  under 
the  co-operative  system.  It  is  also  recognized  that  the  geography  of  the 
dairy  districts  will  determine  to  a  large  extent  whether  a  co-operative 
trucking  system  on  main  roads  can  be  installed  to  advantage.  It  is  a 
fact,  however,  that  in  every  dairy,  district  there  are  main  roads  reaching 
from  the  remotest  farm  to  the  point  of  shipment,  and  there  are  but  few 
of  them  where  it  would  not  be  possible  for  a  wagon  starting  from  the  re- 
motest point  to  pick  up  milk  from  side  roads  and  from  lane- ways  so 
that  by  the  time  it  reached  the  shipping  point  it  would  be  carrying  a  full 
load.  On  the  return  journey  this  same  wagon  can  leave  at  the  entrance 
of  the  side  roads  and  lane- ways  the  empty  cans  which  it  received  from 
the  shipping  point. 

Every  investigation  made  of  the  business  of  country  hauling  has 
shown  that  in  most  dairy  districts  there  are  excessive  numbers  of  wagons 
and  horses  being  used  by  the  dairy  farmers  for  this  purpose,  the  cost  of 
which  must  be  charged  by  them  in  the  price  demanded  for  milk.  Here 
seems  to  be  one  of  the  branches  of  the  producers'  business  which  would 
lend  itself  to  a  decided  economy  if,  through  a  local  committee,  the  terri- 
tory could  be  districted  and  a  trucking  system  established  which  would 
provide  for  full  loads  rather  than  the  small  number  of  cans  now  carried 
per  wagon. 

The  milk  produced  by  the  176  farmers  hauling  their  own  milk  was 
25,058  quarts,  or  about  143  quarts  per  farm,  which  is  3^2  40-quart  cans, 
or  4%  32-quart  cans,  so  that  these  farmers  were  actually  carrying  be- 
tween 3  and  4  cans  each.  The  average  2-horse  farmers'  wagon  can 
carry  at  least  30  cans,  while  trucks  adapted  for  the  purpose  can  carry 
between  40  and  50  cans;  consequently,  instead  of  the  176  farmers  daily 
hauling  milk  to  the  shipping  point,  the  same  milk  could  be  hauled  in  less 
than  20  trucks.  If  we  assume  the  milk  produced  by  the  496  farmers 
estimated  as  hauling  from  the  entire  producing  territory  is  in  the  same, 
proportion,  instead  of  496  wagons  and  horses  and  men  the  same  milk 
could  be  hauled  on  less  than  56  trucks. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  44 


Present  cost 


Cost  to  main  road 

Trucking  on  main  road, 


milk 

Farmers 
Reporting. 

276 
176 

Total 
Farmers. 

778 
496 

$143.26 

$403.74 

Total  estimated  cost. 
Total  daily  saving. . . 


Total  yearly  saving $11,997.55 


47.75 
62.64 

134.56 
176.53 

$110.39 

$311.09 

$32.87 

$92.65 

1,997.55 

$33,817.25 

101 


X 

DEALERS'  DISTRIBUTION  COSTS 

The  center  of  the  milk  problem  in  all  cities  is  considered  to  be  the 
cost  of  milk  distribution.  While  there  are  some  economies  which  could 
be  secured  through  better  business  methods  in  the  production  of  milk 
by  the  dairy  farmer,  it  is  well  recognized  that  these  are  difficult  to  estab- 
lish and  would  require  a  considerable  number  of  years. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  inhabitants  of  every  large  city  and  the  public 
officials  are  carrying  on  their  agitation  on  the  high  cost  of  milk,  prin- 
cipally with  the  thought  in  mind  that  the  cost  of  distribution  is  excessive 
and  that  through  some  reorganization  in  the  industry,  or  perhaps  through 
municipal  control  or  ownership,  these  costs  can  be  greatly  reduced. 

In  approaching  this  problem  in  this  survey,  a  new  method  of  in- 
vestigation was  planned.  In  all  previous  surveys  the  main  dependence 
for  the  investigators  into  the  cost  of  milk  distribution  has  been  the  work 
of  expert  cost  accountants  who  have  devoted  the  greater  part  of  their 
time  to  the  examination  of  the  dealers'  books  and  the  checking  up  of 
vouchers  with  book  entries  to  determine  whether  these  entries  were  cor- 
rect or  not. 

* 

The  reports  handed  in  as  a  result  of  the  work  of  the  expert  account- 
ants have,  in  every  survey  where  this  work  has  been  done,  presented  to 
the  investigators  only  a  financial  statement  which  the  books  themselves 
contained. 

Such  financial  statements  are  unsatisfactory  in  two  respects.  In 
the  first  place,  the  methods  of  bookkeeping  in  the  milk  industry  have 
never  been  standardized.  Consequently  the  financial  statements  taken 
from  dealers'  books  rarely  correspond.  For  this  reason,  even  though 
the  financial  statements  may  be  correct,  it  is  impossible  to  make  accurate 
comparison  of  cost  items  between  one  milk  company  and  another  milk 
company. 

The  second  and  more  serious  cause  for  dissatisfaction  with  such 
figures  is  that  they  in  no  way  reveal  to  the  investigators  what  are  the 
reasons  or  causes  for  these  expenses,  or  whether  the  expenses  are  justi- 
fied. Consequently,  in  all  surveys  whose  main  dependence  has  been  placed 
on  the  work  of  auditors,  it  has  been  impossible  for  the  directors  of  such 
surveys  to  draw  conclusions  or  to  make  recommendations  based  on  any 
accurate  knowledge  of  expense  items,  or  to  state  whether  such  expense 
items  are  justified  or  whether  they  could  be  reduced. 

In  order  to  overcome  these  difficulties  in  this  Survey,  a  new  plan 
was  inaugurated  which  consisted  in  a  study  of  the  conduct  of  the  busi- 
ness itself  outside  of  the  dealers'  books.  These  studies  were  made  by 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  103 

inspectors  in  the  employ  of  the  Survey,  who  personally  visited  all  of  the 
large  milk  companies  in  the  City  of  Rochester  and  a  considerable  number 
of  the  small  dealers  and,  by  personal  observation  of  the  work  performed 
in  these  milk  plants,  took  notes  of  each  operation,  the  number  of  em- 
ployees, the  time  occupied  and  the  cost  of  performing  every  branch  of 
the  business. 

The  dealers'  books  were  not  neglected,  as  expert  accountants  were 
employed  to  take  a  statement  from  the  dealers'  books,  chiefly  for  the 
reason  that  the  factory  charges  or  expenses  outside  of  labor  charges  could 
not  be  obtained  by  inspection.  The  expert  accountants  employed  by  the 
survey  were  unable  to  find  in  the  City  of  Rochester,  however,  more  than 
four  dealers  who  kept  books  in  such  a  manner  that  the  accounts  could  be 
relied  upon.  They  visited  15  of  the  small  milk  dealers  but  were  unable 
to  secure  figures  from  them  which  were  sufficiently  reliable  to  justify  a 
report. 

The  new  plan  pursued  in  this  survey  consisted,  in  short,  of  making 
a  careful  study  of  the  conduct  of  the  business  itself  as  the  main  depend- 
ence, rather  than  to  place  dependence  upon  an  examination  of  the  dealers' 
books. 

In  making  these  inspections  of  the  milk  factories,  it  was  necessary 
to  standardize  the  work  by  drawing  up  report  blanks  which  could  be  used 
by  each  inspector  so  that  the  reports  handed  in  would  be  uniform  and 
also  comprehensive.  The  points  observed  in  connection  with  the  con- 
duct of  the  business  included : 

(1)  The  total  units  of  operation,  such  for  example  as  the  quantity 
of  milk   received,  the  quantity  of  milk  bottled,  the  number  of  bottles 
washed,  the  number  of  cans  washed,  etc. 

(2)  The  number  of  persons  employed  in  each  operation. 

(3)  The  total  number  of  hours  of  labor. 

(4)  The  wage  rate  per  man  hour. 

(5)  The  total  cost  of  the  operation. 

(6)  The  unit  cost  of  the  operation,  for  example,  the  cost  per  quart 
for  milk  received,  the  cost  per  bottle  for  bottles  washed/  the  cost  per  can 
of  cans  washed. 

There  were  more  than  36  different  operations  examined  in  this  way 
in  these  different  milk  factories. 

In  addition  to  the  examination  of  the  milk  business  of  the  dealers 
of  Rochester  in  this  manner,  similar  examinations  were  made  of  the 
largest  milk  business  in  the  City  of  Ottawa,  Canada ;  of  the  largest  busi- 
ness in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  of  the  largest  milk  companies 
in  the  City  of  Baltimore. 


104  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 

The  reasons  for  the  conducting  of  these  examinations  in  these  other 
cities  were  because  it  would  be  of  great  value  in  judging  of  the  efficiency 
of  the  work  in  Rochetser  to  be  able  to  make  comparisons  between  the 
total  costs  and  the  individual  cost  items  in  Rochester  and  similar  cost 
items  of  other  cities,  and  also  because  in  the  cities  of  Ottawa  and  Phil- 
adelphia economies  have  been  instituted  which  might  point  the  way 
toward  the  adoption  of  similar  economies  in  Rochester. 

In  assembling  all  of  the  facts  and  figures  accumulated  by  the  in- 
spectors and  the  cost  accountants,  it  is  recognized  that  the  tabulation  of 
these  results  could  be  drawn  up  in  a  number  of  different  ways.  The 
chief  object  which  must  be  kept  in  mind  in  putting  together  these  figures 
is  the  total  cost  for  the  City  of  Rochester.  This  means  that  the  milk 
business  of  the  City  of  Rochester  must  be  looked  upon  as  a  unit.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  city  are  not  particularly  interested  in  the  business  of 
any  individual  dealer  but  in  the  business  of  the  city  as  a  whole.  There- 
fore, the  object  of  the  tabulations  which  have  been  made  has  been  to 
get  together  under  a  single  head  all  of  the  different  cost  items  for  all  of 
the  dealers  in  the  city  so  that  a  single  simple  statement  can  be  made 
showing  what  the  total  milk  supply  for  the  entire  city  costs  and  what  each 
of  the  different  branches  of  expense  connected  with  this  supply  costs. 

In  order  to  accomplish  this,  the  figures  must  be  assembled  first  for 
the  individual  dealers.  This  was  done  on  a  series  of  cards  or  report 
blanks  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  survey.  It  has  not  been  thought  neces- 
sary to  present  the  individual  costs  of  each  individual  dealer  separately. 
In  order,  however,  to  secure  an  accurate  statement  for  the  entire  city, 
it  has  been  necessary  that  the  costs  of  each  dealer  should  be  set  down  in 
some  form  and  the  best  method  seemed  to  be  to  divide  the  dealers  into 
three  groups  for  this  purpose:  the  first  group  being  dealers  handling 
500  quarts  of  milk  or  less;  the  second  group  dealers  handling  from  501 
to  1,000  quarts;  and  the  third  group  dealers  handling  over  1,000  quarts. 

Before  presenting  these  tabulations  one  other  consideration  is  de- 
sirable. The  cost  of  labor  naturally  belongs  in  a  separate  division  from 
the  cost  of  supplies  and  other  plant  expenses.  Labor,  being  the  human 
element  in  the  business,  lends  itself  to  reorganization  and  business  effi- 
ciency more  easily  than  the  purchase  of  supplies  or  other  plant  charges. 
Consequently,  in  this  work,  labor  is  separately  considered  and  the  payroll 
and  salaries  have  all  been  studied  from  the  standpoint  of  the  labor  per- 
formed as  a  separate  problem. 

In  Table  No.  45  are  presented  the  labor  costs  for  the  first  group  of 
milk  dealers,  handling  500  quarts  or  less. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


105 


jy 

££ 

J6 


Wholesa 
Bottled. 


5  :23?$g  :£  :  :^2S^^8  :8Sq 

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Retail 
Bottled. 


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106 MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 

In  Table  No.  45  attention  is  called  especially  to  column  No.  6,  in 
which  are  set  down  the  unit  costs  for  each  item  of  expense;  thus,  for 
example,  in  this  list  it  costs  2.1  mills  to  wash  a  bottle;  2  cents  to  wash  a 
can,  3  mills  to  pasteurize  and  cool  milk,  3  cents  to  fill  a  can,  etc. 

In  the  last  part  of  the  tabulation  are  given  the  totals  for  the  entire 
group  and  also  a  statement  of  the  cost  for  each  class  of  milk,  including 
retail  bottled  milk,  wholesale  bottled  milk  and  wholesale  canned  milk. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


107 


hoesa 
Cans. 


Whoesae 
Bottled. 


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108 MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

In  Table  No.  46  are  given  similar  labor  costs  for  the  group  of  milk 
dealers  handling  501  to  1,000  quarts.  A  comparison  of  the  costs  of  the 
different  operations  of  this  group  with  the  dealers  of  the  previous  group 
is  interesting;  for  example,  in  this  group  milk  receiving  costs  .5  of  a 
mill  as  compared  with  .7  in  the  previous  group;  washing  a  bottle  1.4 
mills  as  compared  with  2.1  in  the  previous  group;  washings  can  costs 
1  cent  and  6  mills  as  compared  with  2  cents  in  the  previous  group,  etc. 

Table  No.  46  also  shows  the  costs  for  the  entire  group  and  the  costs 
for  retail  bottled  milk,  wholesale  bottled  milk  and  wholesale  canned  milk. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


109 


Whoesae 
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UP     Q 


110       MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 

In  the  Table  No.  47  are  presented  the  costs  for  the  dealers  handling 
over  1,000  quarts.  It  is  most  interesting  to  compare  the  costs  of  these 
three  groups  of  dealers,  item  by  item,  and  also  to  compare  the  costs  for  the 
different  classes  of  milk.  The  object,  however,  of  putting  together  the 
figures  in  this  way  is  not  limited  to  the  interest  attaching  itself  to  these 
comparisons,  but  the  main  object  is  to  pave  the  way  for  getting  together 
the  costs  for  the  entire  city  which  will  be  assembled  in  tabulations  later  on. 

While  the  Survey  has  decided  not  to  present  the  individual  costs  of 
all  milk  dealers  in  the  City  of  Rochester  for  the  purposes  of  comparison, 
it  is  thought  desirable  that  the  costs  of  a  few  of  the  companies  should  be 
presented.  Consequently,  in  Table  No.  48  are  presented  the  costs  for  4 
of  the  large  milk  companies  of  Rochester  and  also  for  a  large  milk  com- 
pany in  Philadelphia  and  in  Ottawa,  Canada. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


111 


TABLE  NO.  48 
UNIT  LABOR  COSTS 


Labor  Charges 
Operation. 

101 
Retail 

132 
Retail 

47   | 
Retail  | 

301 
Retail 

320 
Retail 

119 

Whole- 
sale 

1  Milk  receiving  

000436 

.000267 

.00043426 

.00031906 

00073668 

000533 

2  Bottle  washing  .... 

.000582 

.000538 

.00208991 

00055966 

00108370 

000400 

3  Can  washing   .  . 

000349 

'.000350 

.00024330 

00017808 

00017677 

000800 

4.  Apparatus  washing  .  . 
5  Pasteurizing 

.000271 
000280 

.000281 
000196 

.00068870 
.00058858 

.00012505 
00009670 

.00028645 
00005935 

.000400 
000?67 

6  Cooling 

00002523 

000267 

7.  Bottling  and  Capping. 
8.  Can  filling 

.000931 
000079 

.000609 
000080 

.00168480 
00046136 

.00046858 
00002971 

.00123760 
00001898 

.000267 
000533 

9.  Driving  retail  route.  . 
10.  Driving  wholesale  .  .  . 
11.  Driving  R.  R.  to  plant 
12  Stable 

.016962 
.001651 
.001071 
.000984 

.015935 
.000900 
.000163 
.001138 

.01909000 

.00127200 
.000839 

.00778920 
.00252836 
.00075458 
.00101694 

.01800644 

.00039759 
00096669 

.000307 
.002300 
.000800 
000133 

13  Garage 

.000450 

.000284 

00011609 

00019873 

000267 

14  Engine  room 

000794 

.000750 

.00044077 

00080171 

00083911 

000400 

15.  Refrigerating  plant  .  . 
16  Plant  protection  

.000200 

.00002902 

.00003907 

.000133 

17  Experimental  

.00019967 

.00027550 

18  Office  force  

.002399 

.001750 

.00206119 

.00071302 

.00299860 

.001530 

19  Collectors   

.001201 

.000892 

.004775 

.000600 

20.  Superintendence  
21.  Storage  and  loading.. 
22  Refrigerator 

.003179 

.00191696 
.00041972 

.00009377 
.00065046 

.00047762 
.00090749 
00024784 

.002200 

23.  Trucking  to  branches 
24  Route  returns 

,  •• 

•• 

.00122896 
00016575 

25  Miscellaneous  

.001000 

.00152515 

.00017278 

.00025793 

26  Tin  shop  

.00018750 

27  Laundry  

.00004196 

28  Sales  counter  

.00032873 

29  \Vagon  painting  

.00019498 

30  Plant  painter  

.000356 

.00007522 

31  Carpenter  

.00011921 

32  Creamery    .  ... 

33  Butter  room 

34  Specialties 

35  Canvassers 

001830 

002732 

36  Blacksmith 

Sub  Total 

029829 

029034 

04157193 

.01664244 

.03155445 

.012137 

Administration  salaries  .  . 

.007683 

.006517 

.00153 

|  .00038696 

j 

.002237 

Grand  Total  

.037512 

.035551 

.04310193 

|  .01702940 

.014374 

In  Table  No.  48  are  plants  Nos.  101,  132,  47  and  119,  all  Rochester 
milk  companies,  and  plant  301  which  is  an  Ottawa  milk  company,  and 
plant  No.  302  a  Philadelphia  milk  company.  A  study  of  these  figures 
shows  some  remarkable  differences ;  for  example,  under  the  head  of  "Can 
Washing"  it  is  obvious  that  the  Ottawa  company  and  the  Philadelphia 
company,  which  both  have  approximately  the  same  charges,  are  washing 
cans  by  the  use  of  apparatus  at  an  expenditure  of  labor  which  makes 
these  prices  much  less  costly  than  the  prices  of  can  washing  by  any  of 
the  companies  in  the  City  of  Rochester. 


112 MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 

Under  the  head  of  "Pasteurizing,"  the  cost  of  pasteurizing  by  the 
Ottawa  milk  company  and  the  Philadelphia  milk  company  is  far  lower 
than  the  cost  of  pasteurizing  by  any  of  the  Rochester  milk  companies. 

Under  the  head  of  "Driving  Retail  Routes,"  the  cost  for  the  City  of 
Ottawa  is  far  lower  than  the  cost  for  any  of  the  other  companies  in  the 
list  excepting  plant  No.  1 19,  a  Rochester  company  which  has  practically 
no  retail. business. 

Under  the  head  of  "Office  Force"  is  a  most  remarkable  series  of 
costs.  In  this  instance  the  cost  of  office  force  for  the  Ottawa  milk  com- 
pany is  so  much  lower  than  the  costs  for  any  of  the  other  companies  that 
one  would  think  the  figure  must  be  mistaken.  It  is,  however,  entirely 
correct  and  due  to  the  establishment  of  a  most  efficient  system  of  book- 
keeping by  the  Ottawa  milk  company. 

The  costs  in  the  three  groups  of  dealers  appearing  in  the  three  prev- 
ious tabulations  have  been  assembled  together  in  order  to  get  the  total 
cost  per  quart  for  retail  bottled,  wholesale  bottled  and  wholesale  canned 
milk  for  the  entire  City  of  Rochester.  These  costs  have  been  obtained 
by  putting  together  the  costs  of  all  of  the  dealers  in  the  above  group 
and  dividing  these  costs  by  the  amount  of  milk  sold  in  each  class.  These 
results  are  shown  in  Table  No.  49. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


113 


TABLE  NO.  49 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  LABOR  COSTS  PER  QUART  FOR  RETAIL  BOTTLED. 

WHOLESALE  BOTTLED  AND   WHOLESALE   CANNED   MILK 

FOR  ROCHESTER— BASED  ON  SALES. 


TOTALS  FOR  ROCHESTER. 


OPERATION. 

Retail  bottled. 
(57,305  qts.) 

N 

«8 

!| 

'3  o« 

Wholesale  bottled. 
(11,386  qts.) 

8.S 
«S 

Ji 

*3  cr 

Wholesale  canned 
(8,888  qts.) 

bj 
|1 

|i 

c  cr 

Milk  receiving  

$  3731 

0006511 

$  736 

0006464 

$  551 

0006199 

Bottle  washing  

10673 

0018624 

2082 

0018289 

Can  washing  
Apparatus  washing  
Pasteurizing  

33.09 
41.95 
28.61 

.0005774 
.0007320 
.0004992 

6.48 
8.25 
6.17 

.0005692 
.0007247 
.0005420 

8.12 

5.58 
5.06 

.0009135 
.0006278 
.0005693 

Cooling  

21.34 

.0003724 

3.93 

.0003452 

1.02 

.0001147 

Bottling  and  capping.  .  . 
Can  filling           ... 

94.38 
450 

.0016469 
0000785 

18.45 
.93 

.0016206 
.0000817 

2.85 

.0003207 

Driving  retail  routes  .  . 
Do.  wholesale  routes. 
Do.  R.  R.  to  plant  
Stable       

712.58 

45.78 
60.49 

.0124348 

.0007988 
.0010555 

68.27 
8.96 
11.57 

.0059970 
.0007870 
.0010163 

33.17 
6.60 
9.08 

.0037320 
.0007426 
.0010216 

Garage                      .    ... 

22.99 

.0004011 

4.42 

.0003883 

2.85 

.0003206 

Engine  room 

2985 

0005208 

6.17 

.0005420 

6.09 

.0006852 

Refrigeration  plant   .  .  . 
Plant  protection    
Office  force   

9.67 
2.74 
82.75 

.0001687 
.0000478 
.0014440 

2.01 
.55 
16.31 

.0001766 
.0000483 
.0014327 

1.88 
.88 
16.73 

.0002115 
.0000990 
.0018823 

Collectors                   .    . 

13864 

.0024193 

26.92 

.0023647 

16.77 

.0018868 

Superintendence 

32.44 

.0005661 

6.47 

.0005683 

10.47 

.0011779 

Miscellaneous 

16.80 

.0002932 

3.51 

.0003083 

4.57 

.0005141 

Canvassers 

1607 

0002804 

3.20 

.0002811 

5.18 

.0005828 

Administration  salaries. 

76.63 

.0013372 

15.28 

.0013422 

24.73 

.0027824 

Totals  

$1,615.34 

.0281493 

$246.03 

.0215720 

$167.14 

.0187113 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  charges  in  this  table  are  strictly 
limited  to  labor  charges  and  include  no  other  expenses.  At  the  bottom 
of  each  column  is  given  the  total.  Thus,  for  example,  it  will  be  noted 
that  the  total  labor  costs  for  the  work  performed  in  handling  retail 
bottled  milk  is  a  little  more  than  2  cents  and  8  mills  per  quart ;  the  total 
cost  for  handling  wholesale  bottled  milk  is  somewhat  more  than  2  cents 
and  1  mill  per  quart,  while  the  handling  of  wholesale  milk  in  cans  is  more 
than  1  cent  and  8  mills  per  quart. 

The  total  costs  for  all  classes  of  milk  and  for  all  three  groups  of 
dealers  shown  in  the  previous  tabulations  have  been  assembled  together 
in  one  table  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  total  amount /of  milk  handled, 
bottles  washed,  cans  washed,  apparatus  washed,  milk  pasteurized,  cooled 
and  bottled,  the  number  of  cans  filled,  the  amount  of  milk  delivered  at 
retail  and  at  wholesale,  the  amount  of  milk  received  from  the  railroads, 


114 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


etc.,  for  the  entire  city.  In  short,  all  operations  of  all  dealers  have  been 
assembled  together  and  treated  as  if  the  city  were  conducting  the  milk 
business  under  a  single  head.  Also  all  of  the  employees  at  present  en- 
gaged in  the  business  have  been  put  together  and  all  of  the  hours  expended 
by  them  in  their  labor.  The  cost  of  each  operation  and  the  wages  paid 
to  the  employees  per  hour  and  the  total  costs  for  the  city  also  appear  in 
this  table.  These  figures  are  all  assembled  in  Table  No.  50. 

TABLE  No.  50 
CITY  TOTALS  FOR  UNIT  OF  LABOR  INVOLVED  IN  EACH  OPERATION 


OPERATION 

VI 
•4-> 

N 
ii 

h 

& 

Number  of 
employees. 

Number  of 
man  hours. 

1_ 

1 

C 
rt 

s 

i_ 

<u 

a, 

V) 

'c 

'5 

s 

I 

C/5 
O 

u 

u, 

3 
O 

J5 

I 

'v 
rt 
» 

to   >» 

SI 

3* 

Alilk  receiving 

82,075  quarts 
88,784  bottles 
3,879  cans 
82,075  quarts 
44,160      " 
33,266      " 
83,503  bottles 
638  cans 
57,305  quarts 

11,386  qts.  bottled  1 
8,888  qts.  in  cans  J 

54,072  quarts 
69,630      " 
45,802      " 
55,194      " 
26,129      " 
15,000      " 
56,687 
82,075 
20,236 
17,187 
12,836 
23,836 

173 
215 
156 
182 
37 
118 
224 
17 
304 

179 

93 
110 
59 
44 
23 
2 
72 
186 
8 
21 
8 

i     8 

113.9 
333.0 
125.0 
130.5 
79.7 
64.3 
286.9 
20.8 
1544.5 

224.5 

138.8 
195.9 
60.8 
93.9 
29.8 
16.0! 
297.01 
415.2 
73.01 
69.51 
48.3 

721 
267 
31 
629 
554 
517 
291 
31 
37 

90 

390 
355 
753 
588 
877 
938 
191 
198 
277 
247 
266 

nini 

.0006114 
.0014366 
.0122944 
.0006796 
.0009022 
.0007903 
.0013512 
.0129781 
.0124349 

.0050035 

.0011344 
.0011653 
.0007607 
.0007629 
.0005190 
.0002780 
.0020426 
.0022215 
.0024402 
.0014476 
.0019048 
.0048934 

stration 

$.441 
.383 
.382 
.427 
.500 
.409 
.393 
.398 
.461 

.452 

.442 
.414 
.498 
.448 
.455 
.261 
.390 
.439 
.676 
.358 
.506 

438 

?  50.18 
127.55 
47.69 
55.78 
39.84 
26.29 
112.83 
8.28 
712.58 

101.44 

61.34 

81.14 
30.26 
42.11 
13.56 
4.17 
115.79 
182.33 
49.38 
24.88 
24.45 
116.64 

Bottle  washing 

Can   washing 

Apparatus  washing  .... 
Pasteurizing  &  Cooling. 
Cooling  

Bottling  and  capping.  .  . 
Can  filling  

Retail  delivery  

Wholesale  delivery  .... 

Driving  R.  R.  to  plant.  . 
Stable    

Garage    

Engine  room    
Refrigerator   

Plant  protection    
Office  force  

Collectors  

Superintendence    

Miscellaneous   

Canvassers    

Administration    Salaries 
Total  

4361.3 
ept  adi 

$2029.51 

Average  rate  exc 

In  Table  No.  50,  in  column  No.  5,  appears  the  cost  per  quart  of  milk 
received,  the  cost  per  bottle  for  bottles  washed,  the  cost  per  can  for  cans 
washed,  etc.,  throughout  the  entire  list,  each  unit  cost  representing  the 
cost  of  performing  the  operation  for  each  of  the  items  included  in  such 
operation. 

In  column  No.  7  appears  the  entire  costs  of  the  labor  performed  in 
Rochester  for  one  day,  showing  that  the  daily  payroll  for  all  of  the 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 115 

people  employed  in  the  milk  business  amounts  to  $2,029.51.  In  this  table, 
for  example,  also  appears  the  cost  of  bottle  washing  under  present  condi- 
tions, which  is  $127.55;  the  cost  of  washing  milk  cans,  $47.69;  the  cost 
of  pasteurizing,  $39.84;  the  cost  of  bottling  and  capping,  $112.83;  the 
cost  of  delivering  milk  at  retail,  $712.58,  for  one  day. 

This  is  the  cost  of  labor  only,  the  other  cost  items  appearing  in  later 
tabulations. 

It  has  often  been  alleged  that  the  cost  of  performing  the  work  of 
milk  distribution  is  smaller  for  the  small  dealer  than  it  is  for  the  large 
dealer,  and  therefore  that  it  is  an  advantage  to  any  city  to  have  its  milk 
distributed  by  small  dealers  rather  than  by  large  dealers  because  it  is 
more  economical. 

In  this  survey  it  has  been  believed  that  the  city  would  expect  to  re- 
ceive information  on  this  particular  point  and,  for  this  reason,  the  figures 
for  the  cost  of  doing  business  for  dealers  handling  500  quarts  or  less,  for 
dealers  handling  501  to  1,000  quarts,  and  for  dealers  handling  from  1,000 
upwards,  have  been  separately  tabulated  for  the  entire  operations  per- 
•  formed  by  these  dealers  so  far  as  their  labor  is  concerned ;  for  example, 
:  dealers  handling  under  500  quarts  furnish  to  the  City  of  Rochester  a  total 
of  23,006  quarts  of  milk  daily,  while  dealers  handling  from  501  to  1,000 
quarts  handle  a  total  of  15,786  quarts  daily.  The  balance  of  the  milk 
supply,  amounting  to  38,283  quarts,  is  handled  by  dealers  whose  business 
is  in  excess  of  1,000  quarts  a  day. 

For  these  three  groups  of  dealers  the  figures  have  been  tabulated  in 
I  a  new  form  by  using  the  number  of  quarts  of  milk  received  by  each  group 
as  a  divisor.  The  cost  of  performing  each  of  the  labor  operations  by 
each  of  these  groups  of  dealers  has  been  divided  by  the  number  of  quarts 
of  milk  received  by  each  group.  In  this  way  the  unit  cost  per  quart  for 
performing  each  operation  has  been  based  on  the  number  of  quarts 
handled  by  each  group.  These  figures  are  shown  in  Table  No.  51. 


116 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  NO.  51 

UNIT  COST  OF  LABOR  DETERMINED  ON  BASIS  OF  QUARTS  OF  MILK 
RECEIVED  ON  ONE  DAY 


OPERATION. 

•d 
'£% 

o"- 

G>    ^ 

to    ^* 

"gi 

E>™ 

*d 

#"fe 

o<£ 

§t/i 
^*0- 

3S§ 

i—  ILO 
S~ 

c/r 

•g? 
3-o 

M 

3  » 
|3 

rt  <*3 

o  °^ 

•d 
"o 
I 

£ 
"o" 

VO 

t^. 

I 

d 

3 
O 
IH 

be 

£ 

c/i 
O 

u 

•d 

«H'*> 

a| 

«i 

CJ  +J 

•s| 

p^ 

ft 

I 

U 

(U 

a 
.*-» 

C/5 

6 

kl 

as 

!! 

~| 

y 

A 

3 
O 
U 

bo 

1 

"{ft 

6 

Jj 

S.| 

fs 

O  ^-i 

VH 

•ti  rt 
S  s 
P  ^ 

11 

^  rt 

:-&6 

o  a 
^  o 

IS 

T3 

n  > 

<U.^ 

ao 

!| 

t!  rt 

If 

Milk  receiving  .  . 
Bottle  Washing  . 
Can  Washing  .  .  . 
Appar'tus  Wash'g 
Past'iz'g  &  Cool'g 
Cooling  
Bottli'g  &  Cappi'g 
Can  Filling  

$  19.61 
67.42 
21.43 
24.09 
5.63 
21.77 
56.83 
1.71 
214.73 
32.61 
25.52 
35.85 
15.37 
6.29 
2.13 

29.80 
90.18 

0007002 
0024078 
0007653 
0008603 
0002010 
.0007775 
.0020296 
.0000610 
.0076689 
.0011646 
.0009114 
.0012625 
.0005489 
0002246 
.0000760 

.0010642 
.0032201 

$  9.45 
29.17 
8.74 
11.34 
13.34 
4.52 
23.62 

104.74 
22.24 
10.92 
9.75 
5.04 
9.28 
3.27 

14.52 
34.54 

3.66 

.0005985 
.0018485 
.0005538 
.0007186 
.0008453 
.0002864 
.0014968 

.0066375 
.0014093 
.0006920 
.0006178 
.0003193 
.0005880 
.0002072 

.0009201 
.0021878 

.0002319 

$  18.71 
30.96 
17.52 
20.35 
20.87 

32.38 
6.57 
393.11 
46.59 
24.90 
35.54 
9.85 
26.54 
8.16 
4.17 
71.47 
57.61 
49.38 
21.22 
24.45 
116.64 

.0004887 
.0008087 
.0004576 
.0005317 
.0005451 

.0008458 
.0001716 
.0102693 
.0012170 
.0006504 
.0009283 
.0002573 
.0006933 
.0002131 
.0001089 
.0018740 
.0015047 
.0012899 
.0005543 
.0006387 
.0030470 

$  50.18 
127.55 
47.69 
55.78 
39.84 
26.29 
112.83 
8.28 
712.58 
101.44 
61.34 
81.14 
30.26 
42.11 
13.56 
4.17 
115.79 
182.33 
49.38 
24.88 
24.45 
116.64 

0006184 
0015540 
.0005810 
.0006796 
0004854 
.0013203 
.0013747 
.0001009 
.0086820 
.0012359 
.0007473 
.0009886 
.0003686 
.0005130 
.0001652 
.0000508 
.0014107 
.0022215 
.0006016 
.0003031 
1.0002978 
1.0014211 

Driving  Retail   .  . 
Wholesale    .... 
R.  R.  to  Plant. 
Stable   

Garage    

Engine  Room  .  .  . 
Refrig'tion    Plant 
Plant    Protection 
Office  Force  
Collectors 

Superintendence. 
Miscellaneous  .  .  . 
Canvassers 

Administration  .  . 
Total  

$670.97 

.0239435 

$318.14 

.0201598|$1039.40 

.0271584 

$2029.51 

1.0247145 

In  Table  No.  51  it  appears  that  the  total  labor  costs  in  dollars  for 
group  No.  1  is  $670.97  and  that  the  cost  per  quart  for  handling  and 
delivering  milk  by  group  No.  1  is  .0239.  Group  No.  2  dealers,  handling 
from  501  to  1,000  quarts,  have  a  daily  payroll  of  $318.14  and  the  cost 
per  quart  for  milk  handling  is  .0201,  which  is  less  than  the  cost  in  the 
previous  group.  On  the  other  hand  group  No.  3,  which  includes  dealers 
handling  more  than  1,000  quarts  daily,  has  a  daily  payroll  of  $1,035.93, 
and  a  cost  per  quart  for  milk  handling  of  .0270.  This  is  the  highest  cost 
of  all.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  this  group,  with  one  ex- 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER  117 

ception,  are  dealers  who  operate  pasteurizers  and  therefore  have  more 
expensive  machinery  and  also  a  laKger  daily  payroll.   * 

In  the  last  two  columns  of  this  tabulation  appear  the  total  labor  costs 
for  the  entire  city  based  on  the  volume  of  milfc  received  daily. 

POSSIBLE  REDUCTIONS  IN  LABOR  COSTS 

Each  of  the  operations  performed  in  connection  with  milk  handling 
by  the  dealer  has  been  treated  by  this  survey  as  a  separate  enterprise. 
Independently  of  the  methods  of  bookkeeping  by  the  milk  companies,  4he 
inspectors  employed  have  visited  the  plants  of  the  large  milk  dealers  and 
taken  careful  notes  concerning  the  different  operations  performed,  the 
number  of  men  employed,  the  volume  of  work  performed  by  them,  and 
the  cost,  basing  this  cost  on  the  wages  of  the  men  and  the  number  of 
hours  they  work.  This  has  made  it  possible  to  express  the  work  per- 
formed in  "man  hours"  and  the  wages  in  dollars  per  man  hour.  These 
methods  have  been  used  for  54  out  of  the  136  milk  companies  in  Roch- 
ester. In  these  54  were  included  all  of  the  large  companies  and  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  the  small  companies  to  furnish  information  which  would 
fairly  represent  the  costs  of  the  labor  performed  by  all  of  the  small 
companies. 

From  the  information  obtained  in  this  way  the  cost  of  each  of  the 
operations  performed  has  been  figured  separately  from  the  other  opera- 
tions, and  the  total  cost  for  the  entire  City  of  Rochester  obtained.  The 
cost  of  the  same  list  of  operations  has  been  obtained  in  the  same  way 
from  milk  companies  in  the  cities  of  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  Ottawa, 
Can.  The  costs  from  these  other  cities  are  compared  with  the  costs  for 
the  City  of  Rochester  as  the  best  means  of  determining  whether  Roch- 
ester costs  are  lower,  higher,  or  the  same  as  those  in  other  cities.  Each 
of  the  different  milk  operations  is  separately  discussed  in  the  following 
paragraphs  and  tabulations: 

MILK  RECEIVING 

At  the  time  the  figures  were  obtained  in  the  month  of  August  the 
•average  quantity  of  milk  received  by  the  City  of  Rochester  daily  was 
82,075  quarts.  From 'the  reports  obtained  by  the  inspectors  173  men  are 
employed  in  this  work  for  a  period  of  113.9  hours,  which  is  at  the  rate  of 
721  quarts  per  man  hour  at  a  cost  of  .000611  per  quart,  and  a  yearly  cost 
of  $18,315.70.  In  the  same  way,  the  figures  for  all  of  the  other  com- 
panies in  all  of  the  cities  visited  were  obtained.  A  comparison  of  these 
figures  is  shown  in  Table  No.  52. 


118 


MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  NO.  52 
MILK  RECEIVING 


Number  of 
Company. 

»-i  'C 

O   V 

c/5 
u 

o   . 

d 

rt 

"rt 

E§ 

'-.     tn 

u 
fjj 

0* 

B 

a 

to 
O 

0 

1  . 

20,417 
16,056 
4,346 
64,800 
9,000 
82,075 
43,070 

"T  COSt 

5 
4 
3 
12 
2 
173 
4 

25.5 
26 
5 
214 
11 
113.9 
31 

800.6 
617.5 
869.2 
302.8 
818.1 
721.0 
1,386.0 

.000488 
.000493 
.000328 
.000736 
.000436 
.000611 
.000319 

.000611 
.000441 

Yearly  Cost 
$18,315.70 
13,211.20 

2  

3  .   ... 

4  . 

5 

7-R,  Av  

8  

Total  present  Rochest< 
Estimated  cost  under 

Annual    saving    . 

centralized  sys 

tern              .   ... 

.000170 

$  5,104.50 

In  Table  No.  52  the  most  efficient  company  in  the  list  receives  1,386 
quarts  per  man  hour,  while  3  other  companies  receive  over  800  quarts  per 
man  hour,  consequently  it  seems  fair  to  assume  that  under  properly  or- 
ganized working  conditions  at  least  1,000  quarts  per  man  hour  could  be 
received.  On  this  basis,  and  using  the  present  Rochester  wage  scale  for 
milk  receiving  of  .441  per  man  hour,  the  total  annual  cost  under  a  cen- 
tralized system  would  be  $13,211.20.  This  would  mean  a  saving  under 
a  centralized  system  of  .000170,  per  quart,  and  an  annual  saving  of 
$5,104.50. 

BOTTLE  WASHING 

The  figures  for  bottle  washing  are  made  up  from  the  same  list  of 
milk  companies  in  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  Ottawa,  and  Rochester,  and 
include  the  Rochester  average.  These  are  presented  in  Table  No.  53. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


119 


TABLE  NO.  53 
BOTTLE  WASHING 


13 

O    CJ 

IH 

u 

Number  of 

*-"  >> 

O 

^  o 

,_ 

Company. 

in   <U 

£  "^ 

*""*         C 

t«4^ 

&JOJ 

£  rt 

.+-»   c3 

(2s 

+1   Ct 

H 

1   . 

15229 

3 

21 

7252 

000ci/?7l 

2  

13  540 

7 

63 

214Q 

001?^^! 

3  ... 

4650 

5 

^000 

OOOQ07 

4  

90000 

21 

214 

3364 

000866 

5  

10000 

5 

15 

6666 

000523 

6  

8320 

4 

11  33 

7343 

000517 

7-R,  Av   .    .   . 

88784 

156 

125 

2670 

001437 

8  

46034 

7 

6475 

7109 

000525 

Yearly  Cost 

Present  Rochester  cost  

001437 

$46  555  75 

Rochester  cost  under  centralized  system 

000547 

1773076 

Saving  under  centralized  system   

.000890 

$28,824.99 

From  the  figures  in  Table  No.  53  it  appears  that  the  average  cost  per 
bottle  for  bottle  washing  for  all  of  the  88,784  bottles  washed  daily  in  the 
City  of  Rochester  is  .001437  per  bottle,  or  a  yearly  cost  of  $46,555.75. 

It  will  be  noted  in  the  list  of  bottles  washed  per  man  hour  that  the 
average  number  of  bottles  washed  by  the  City  of  Rochester  per  man  hour 
is  only  267,  and  that  with  one  exception  this  is  the  smallest  number  of 
bottles  washed  per  man  hour  by  any  company  in  the  list.  Three  com- 
panies in  the  list  wash  more  than  700  bottles  per  man  hour.  It  seems  fair 
to  assume,  therefore,  that  under  proper  business  conditions  over  700 
bottles  per  man  hour  could  be  washed  by  the  City  of  Rochester.  One  of 
the  Rochester  companies  washes  more  than  700  bottles  per  man  hour. 

If  we  assume  700  botles  per  man  hour  as  a  reasonable  number  under 
efficient  methods,  and  use  the  Rochester  average  wage  scale  for  bottle 
washing  of  .383  per  man  hour,  the  cost  of  washing  one  bottle  under  a 
centralized  system  would  be  .000547,  and  the  yearly  cost  $17,730.76. 
This  would  mean  a  saving  on  the  cost  of  washing  one  bottle  of  .000890, 
and  an  annual  saving  of  $28,824.99. 

CAN  WASHING 

The  figures  for  can  washing  represent  the  same  list  of  companies, 
and  show  that  the  total  number  of  cans  washed  in  the  City  of  Rochester 
daily  is  3,879  by  156  men  working  for  125  hours  at  the  rate  of  31  cans 
per  man  hour,  and  at  a  cost  per  can  of.012294.  The  complete  figures  are 
shown  in  Table  No.  54. 


120 


MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 


TABLE  NO.  54 
CAN  WASHING 


t 

03 

Number  of 

en 

a 

0  % 

0 

o3  o 

0 
U 

Company. 

«:3 

c  "H< 

.13 

Crt     C 

a 

c3"^ 

s  6 

"o  c 

o 

U 

£  ° 

H  c 

u 

U 

1 

897 

5 

34.5 

26 

.011583 

2  

800 

2 

16 

50 

.005728 

3  

150 

1 

4 

37.5 

.007405 

4  

2000 

3 

25 

80 

.005711 

5  

311 

1 

9 

34.5 

.010099 

% 

6 

383 

1 

7 

54.7 

.007310 

7-R  Av 

3879 

156 

125 

31 

.012294 

8  

1.2?2 

2 

19 

64.3 

.006276 

Yearly  Cost 

.012294 

$17,406.85 

Rochester  cost  under  centralized  system             . 

005969 

8,450.76 

Saving  under  centralized  system  

.006325 

$  8,956.09 

An  inspection  of  the  number  of  cans  washed  per  man  hour  in  Table 
No.  54  shows  that  with  the  exception  of  one  company  the  number  of 
cans  washed  in  Rochester  is  the  smallest  per  man  hour.  One  company 
in  the  list  washes  80  cans  per  hour;  one,  64;  two,  50  or  more  per  hour. 
At  the  present  Rochester  cost  of  .012294  per  can,  the  annual  cost  for  can 
washing  is  $17,406.85.  The  company  in  the  list  washing  80  cans,  per  man 
hour  does  not  wash  the  cans  so  efficiently  as  the  company  washing  64.3 
per  man  hour.  The  conditions  under  which  the  cans  are  washed  in  this 
latter  company  can  easily  be  imitated  by  any  first  class  organization,  and 
it  is  therefore  proper  to  assume  that  under  a  centralized  system  Roch- 
eser  could  wash  at  least  64  cans  per  man  hour.  Using  this  figure  and  the 
present  wage  scale  for  can  washing  in  Rochester,  which  is  .382  per  man 
hour,  the  cost. for  washing  one  can  under  a  centralized  system  would  be 
.005969  per  can,  or  8,450.76  per  year.  This  would  mean  a  saving  of 
.006325  per  can,  and  $8,956.09  per  year. 

APPARATUS  WASHING 

In  estimating  the  cost  of  apparatus  washing  a  comparison  is  made 
betwen  the  total  number  of  quarts  of  milk  received  daily  by  Rochester, 
and  by  milk  companies  in  the  same  lists  used  in  previous  tabulations.  It 
appears  that  in  Rochester  182  men  took  part  in  this  operation,  with  an 
expenditure  of  130.5  man  hours,  and  that  this  washing  of  apparatus  is 
performed  for  an  average  of  629  quarts  per  man  hour  at  a  cost  of  .000680 
per  quart.  These  comparisons  are  shown  in  Table  No.  55. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


121 


TABLE  NO.  55 
APPARATUS  WASHING 


11 

M-t   .c/j 

i_, 

Number  of 

Q<  l-i 

o 

a  o 

"£ 

Company. 

c  o< 

—"  e 

-g 

fl 

Ss 

*Z  v 

*5  oj 

OS    O3 

0E 

61 

1  . 

20417 

23 

32 

000478 

2  . 

16056 

13 

225 

7H6 

000477 

3  

4346 

5 

105 

4139 

000628 

*- 

4  

64800 

5 

48 

1  350 

000286 

5  

9000 

7 

7 

1  28C5  7 

000271 

6  .... 

8000 

6 

55 

1  4545 

000280 

7-R,  Av  

82,075 

182 

1305 

6290 

000680 

8  

43070 

7 

1425 

30224 

000125 

Yearly  Cost 

Present  Rochester  cost   

000680 

$20  359  70 

Rochester  cost  under  centralized  system 

000213 

639590 

Saving  under  centralized  system    

.000467 

$13,963.80 

From  Table  No.  55  it  appears  that  the  present  Rochester  costs  are 
.000680  per  quart,  or  a  daily  cost  of  $20,359.70.  An  inspection  of  the 
number  of  quarts  per  man  hour  for  which  the  apparatus  is  washed  in 
these  different  companies  shows  four  companies  with  over  1,200  quarts 
per  man  hour,  and  one  of  these  with  over  3,000  quarts  per  man  hour.  If 
we  assume  that  2,000  quarts  per  man  hour  is  a  fair  estimate  for  effective 
washing  of  apparatus,  this  would  be  only  %  of  the  efficiency  of  the  best 
company,  and  but  40%  more  than  the  efficiency"  of  2  others  in  the  list. 
If  we  apply  the  Rochester  wage  scale  for  apparatus  washing  of  .427  to 
2,000  quarts  per  man  hour,  the  cost  per  quart  for  washing  apparatus 
under  a  centralized  system  would  be  .000213,  and  a  yearly  cost  for  the 
entire  Rochester  milk  supply  of  $6,395.90.  This  would  effect  a  saving  of 
.000467  per  quart,  and  $13,963.80  per  year. 

PASTEURIZING  AND  COOLING 

The  figures  for  pasteurizing  and  cooling  for  Rochester  must  be 
divided  into  two  parts,  for  the  reason  that  while  many  of  the  large  dealers 
operate  both  pasteurizing  machines  and  milk  coolers,  the  majority  of 
small  dealers  do  not  operate  pasteurizers,  but  only  operate  a  cooling  ap- 
paratus, consequently  in  presenting  these  figures  we  have  listed  separately 
the  figures  for  those  dealers  who  operate  both  pasteurizers  and  coolers 
and  those  who  operate  only  coolers.  The  volume  of  milk  which  is  pas- 
teurized and  cooled  was  47,373  quarts  daily,  and  by  these  dealers  there 
were  employed  37  men  for  79.7  man  hours  who  pasteurized  and  cooled 
milk  at  the  rate  of  594.4  quarts  per  hour  at  a  cost  of  .000841  per  quart. 


122 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


The  dealers  who  were  cooling  milk  only  did  not  all  of  them  report  cool- 
ing charges.  The  number  reporting  cooling  charges  were  handling  33,266 
quarts  with  118  men  employed  for  a  total  of  64.3  man  hours  at  the  rate 
of  517  quarts  per  man  hour,  at  a  cost  per  quart  of  .000790.  These  figures 
are  tabulated  in  Table  No.  56. 

TABLE  NO.  56 
PASTEURIZING  AND  COOLING 


Number  of 
Company. 

Daily  quarts 
pasteurized 

Number  of 
employees. 

u 

53 
0 
X 

3S 

o  c 
H  fc 

ii    . 

<U    t/j 

ftp 

£  o 
tt-.c 

rt 

a| 

u 

<u 

O     j  t 

1/5    *$ 

s* 

1   . 

20,417 
16,056 
4,346 
64,800 
9,000 
8,000 
47,373 
33,266 
43,070 

;ts,  for  c 
ing  .  .  .  . 

2 

2 
2 

1 
1 
1 
37 
118 
3 

ompai 

10 
14 
10 
10 
5 
3.66 
79.7 
64.3 
11.5 

lies  bott' 

2,041.7 
1,146,8 
434.6 
6,480 
1,800 
2,185.8 
594.4 
517 
3,745.2 

ing,  pas- 

.000199 
.000323 
.000675 
.000059 
.000203 
.000195 
.000841 
.000790 
.000096 

.000841 
.000790 

.000091 
.000750 

Yearly  Cost 

$14,541.60 
9,595.85 

2  

3  

4  

5  

6    

7-R    Av 

*7-R  Av 

g 

Present  Rochester  Co 
teurizing  and  coo 
Present  Rochester  cos 

Total  present  Roc 
Rochester  costs  under 
Savings  under  cei 

>ts,  for 
hester  c 
centrali 
itralized 

:ompanies  cooling  only 

3StS    .  ,  

$24,137.45 
2,723.40 

zed  sy 
syste 

stem  

m 

$21,414.05 

(*Cooling  charge  where  no  pasteurizing  is  done.) 

If  we  apply  these  figures  to  the  volume  of  milk  mentioned  at  the 
Rochester  rate  of  .50  per  man  hour,  the  present  cost  for  companies  both 
pasteurizing  and  cooling  amounts  to  $14,541.60  per  year,  and  for  the 
companies  cooling  only  $9,595.85  per  year,  or  a  total  of  $24,137.45  per 
year  for  the  quantity  of  milk  reported.  Under  a  centralized  system  milk 
can  be  pasteurized  by  large  sized  machinery.  The  manufacturing  com- 
panies many  of  them  build  machines  capable  of  pasteurizing  12,000  Ibs. 
of  milk  per  hour,  which  is  at  the  rate  of  more  than  5,500  quarts  per 
hour. 

It  will  be  noted  in  the  table  that  one  large  company  handling  64,800 
quarts  daily  pasteurizes  at  the  rate  of  6,480  quarts  per  hour.  Assuming 
under  a  centralized  system  that  Rochester  could  pasteurize  milk  with  ap- 
paratus which  would  handle  5,500  quarts  per  hour  the  cost  would  be 
.000091  per  quart,  or  $2,723.40  per  year.  In  presenting  these  figures  it  is 
necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  in  the  tabulation  above  only  47,373  quarts 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


123 


were  pasteurized  out  of  a  total  of  82,075  quarts  received  by  the  City  of 
Rochester  at  the  time  these  figures  were  obtained.  This  is  57%  of  the 
entire  Rochester  supply,  therefore  the  costs  for  pasteurizing  milk  are 
costs  representing  the  pasteurization  of  only  57%,  and  would  be  much 
larger  annually  if  all  of  the  milk  of  Rochester  were  pasteurized  by  the 
present  system.  In  presenting  figures  for  the  centralized  system  we  are 
assuming  that  the  entire  Rochester  supply  of  82,075  quarts  is  pasteurized 
by  modern  apparatus. 

The  saving  per  quart  under  the  methods  used  in  the  centralized  sys- 
tem as  compared  with  the  present  Rochester  methods  of  pasteurizing  is 
.000750.  The  annual  saving  by  the  adoption  of  the  centralized  method 
over  the  present  costs  for  milk  which  is  both  pasteurized  and  cooled  and 
for  the  milk  which  is  cooled  only  is  $21,404.05.  If  a  pasteurizing  ordi- 
nance were  put  in  force  in  Rochester  without  any  effort  to  centralize  the 
business,  and  the  same  pasteurizing  costs  which  exist  at  present  were  ap- 
plied to  the  entire  supply  the  total  cost  for  pasteurizing  under  present 
conditions  by  the  present  methods  would  be  $25,192.00  yearly. 

BOTTLING  AND  CAPPING 

The  figures  presented  '  for  bottling  and  capping  include  all  of  the 
Rochester  milk  companies  which  are  bottling  milk,  both  in  quart  bottles 
and  in  pint  bottles.  The  total  number  of  bottles  which  are  filled  daily, 
both  quarts  and  pints,  is  83,503.  For  this  work  there  are  employed  in 
Rochester  224  persons  for  a  period  of  286.9  hours,  who  bottle  and  cap 
bottles  at  the  rate  of  291  per  hour  at  a  cost  of  .001351  per  bottle,  or 
$41,182.95  yearly.  A  comparison  of  these  figures  with  the  figures  ob- 
tained from  other  companies  is  shown  in  Table  No.  57. 

TABLE  NO.  57 
BOTTLING  AND  CAPPING 


Number  of 
Company. 

o  5  "c 
<u 

-0    (/T-d 

£^  rt 

*J 

Number  of 
employees.  | 

tf> 

!-c 

3 
O 

11 

H  £ 

|l 

«  £ 

oj 

1   . 

15,229 
13,540 
4,650 
90,000 
7,690 
8,320 
83,503 
46,034 

>sts 

13 
10 

4 
21 
6 
4 

224 
6 

75 
53 
12 
192 
24 
12.5 
286.9 
56.5 

203 
255.4 
387.5 
375 
320.4 
665.6 
291 
814.7 

.001430 
.001184 
.000701 
.000799 
.001089 
.000585 
.001351 
.000438 

.001351 
.000561 

.000790 

Yearly  Cost 
$41,182.95 
17,111.55 

2  

3  .... 

4  .. 

5  ... 

6  .   . 

7-R  Av 

8 

Present   Rochester  cc 
Rochester  Costs  unde 

Savings  under  cer 

r  centralized  s 
itralized  systen 

vstem         

n  

$24,071.40 

124 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 


It  will  be  noted  in  the  column  entitled  "Bottles  per  Man  Hour,"  in 
Table  No.  57,  that  the  number  of  bottles  filled  and  capped  in  Rochester 
is  considerably  lower  than  the  number  for  5  of  the  milk  companies  in  the 
list.  By  the  use  of  a  proper  type  of  machinery  and  proper  arrangement 
for  bringing  bottles  to  the  machine  and  taking  them  away,  the  work  can 
be  done  most  rapidly  and  efficiently.  By  such  methods  it  will  be  noted 
that  one  company  fills  and  caps  bottles  at  the  rate  of  814.7  per  man  hour 
and  another  at  the  rate  of  665.6  per  man  hour. 

If  we  assume  that  a  fair  estimate  for  Rochester  would  be  700  bottles 
per  man  hour,  the  cost  of  capping  and  bottling  would  be  .000561  per 
bottle,  or  $17,111.55  per  year.  This  would  mean  a  saving  on  the  cost  of 
each  bottle  of  .000790,  and  a  yearly  saving  of  $24,071.40. 


CAN  FILLING 

The  figures  obtained  from  the  companies  given  in  Table  No.  58  on 
can  filling  are  incomplete.  Complete  figures  were  secured  from  only 
4  companies  in  addition  to  the  average  for  the  City  of  Rochester.  The 
total  number  of  cans  filled  in  the  City  of  Rochester  each  day  is  638.  In 
this  work  there  are  17  men  employed  for  a  total  period  of  20.8  hours  at 
the  rate  of  31  cans  per  man  hour,  and  at  a  cost  of  .012978  per  can,  and 
a  yearly  cost  of  $3,022.20. 

TABLE  NO.  58 
CAN  FILLING 


Number  of 
Company. 

lH       t/5 

<u  c 
XJ  rt 

£  u 

!° 

Number  of 
employees.  I) 

c 

as 
£  "> 

31 

£" 

ll 

2% 
<3e 

i_ 

<U 
Q<    . 

I  8 
0 

1  .   . 

215 
93 
638 
121 

>ts 

1 

1 

1 
2 
17 
1 

2 
4 

5 
2 
20.8 
3 

43 
46 
31 
40 

.005725 
.007505 
.012978 
.010578 

.012978 
.008844 

Yearly  Cost 
$3,022.20 
2,059.61 

2  . 

3  . 

4  

5  

7-R,  Av  

8  

Present  Rochester  cos 
Rochester  costs  under 

Savings  under  cen 

centralized  sy 
tralized  systen 

stem 

i  

.004134 

$     962.59 

If  we  assume  that  cans  can  be  filled  at  the  rate  of  45  per  man  hour, 
and  use  the  Rochester  wage  scale  of  .398,  under  a  centralized  system  the 
cost  of  filling  1  can  would  be  .008844,  which  gives  an  annual  cost  of 
$2,059.61.  This  shows  a  saving  in  the  filling  of  1  can  of  .004134,  and  an 
annual  saving  of  $962.59. 


MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 125 

DRIVING  RETAIL  ROUTES  AND  WHOLESALE  ROUTES 

Much  difficulty  is  always  encountered  in  drawing  up  a  statement  of 
the  cost  of  milk  delivery,  for  the  reason  that  some  milk  companies  con- 
duct a  business  almost  wholly  composed  of  retail  milk,  others  a  business 
in  which  both  retail  and  wholesale  trade  are  factors,  and  others  a  busi- 
ness which  is  practicaly  limited  to  the  wholesale  trade.  In  the  matter  of 
delivery  wagons,  some  companies  divide  their  business  so  that  retail 
milk  is  carried  entirely  by  retail  wagons,  while  wholesale  milk  is  carried 
by  wholesale  wagons.  Other  companies,  on  the  other  hand,  carry  all 
classes  of  milk  on  the  same  wagons  and  conduct  what  is  called  a  mixed 
delivery  system.  In  order  to  arrive  at  a  fair  estimate  of  the  cost  of  milk 
delivery,  therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  consideration  these  differ- 
ent methods  of  delivery.  Some  of  the  companies  which  are  delivering 
milk  at  the  lowest  cost  use  the  mixed  delivery  system,  carrying  all  classes 
of  milk  on  the  same  wagons.  In  the  City  of  Rochester  the  milk  com- 
panies represent  all  of  the  types  of  delivery  above  mentioned. 

A  comparison  of  the  cost  of  delivery  in  Rochester  with  the  cost  of 
delivery  by  the  other  companies  in  the  list  is  shown  in  Table  No.  59. 


126 


MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  59 
DRIVING   RETAIL   AND  WHOLESALE   ROUTES 


Number  of 
Company. 

«-M 

0 

£^£ 
1-1  H3 
rt5 

a*2! 

O 

Number  of 
Drivers. 

d 

rt    . 

it 

y 

g| 

£  C 
u  «J 

^ 

0 

jl 

C/5    ttfl 

"E  rt 

s% 

a 

^    .J 

<U    VH 

s% 

go 
p 

1     Retail      

16,780 
3,637 
20,417 

15,176 
880 
16,056 

4,346 
4,346 

59,000 
6,800 
65,800 

5,066 
3,292 
8,358 

5,303 
1,052 
6,355 

57,305 
20,274 
77,579 

25,209 
12,850 
38,059 

costs 

49 

52 

55 
1 
56 

15 
15 

148 
2 
150 

15 
4 
19 

26 
2 
28 

304 
179 

64 

445 
18 
463 

495 
2 
497 

157 
157 

2,528 
20 
2,548 

97.5 
24 
121.5 

208 
16 
224 

1,544.5 
224.5 
1,769 

512 

44.1 
32.3 
27.6 
25.8 
68.8 

28.4 

37.0 
90.0 
43.8 

74.3 

342.4 
1,212.3 
392.6 

275.9 
880 
286.7 

289.7 
289.7 

391.9 
3,400 
432 

337.7 
823 
439.8 

203.9 
526.0 
226.9 

279 

393.9 
200.7 
594.6 

.013437 
.018646 
.015706 
.015988 
.011111 

.01891 

.012434 
.005003 
.010493 

.007789 
.002528 
.005627 

.010493 
.006571 

.003922 

Yearly  Costs 
$297,117.30 
,    186,078.53 

Wholesale    ... 
Total 

2    Retail    

Wholesale    ... 
Total 

3    Retail 

Wholesale    ... 
Total  

4    Retail 

Wholesale    ... 
Total   

5    Retail      

Wholesale    .  .  . 
Total 

6.   Retail    

Wholesale    ... 
Total     .    . 

7-R  Av  Retail 

Wholesale.  .  . 
Total   

8    Retail          .    . 

Wholesale    ... 
Total 

Present  Rochester 
Rochester  costs  ui 

Savings  under  cei 

ider  centralized  syst< 
itralized   system  

;m  

$111,038.77 

In  Table  No.  59  is  a  statement  of  the  number  of  quarts  delivered 
per  man  hour,  and  also  the  number  of  quarts  delivered  per  wagon.  An 
inspection  of  the  number  of  quarts  per  man  hour  shows  that  company 
No.  8  handles  74.3  quarts  per  man  hour  with  a  trade  consisting  of  about 
two-thirds  retail  and  one-third  wholesale  business ;  and  company  No.  5 
handles  68.8  quarts  per  hour  with  a  business  consisting  of  about  two- 
thirds  retail  and  one-third  wholesale.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  business 
for  the  City  of  Rochester,  which  is  No.  7  in  the  list,  consists  of  57,305 
quarts  retail,  and  20,274  quarts  wholesale,  a  proportion  which  is  not  far 
from  the  proportion  of  retail  to  wholesale  business  above  mentioned. 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER  127 

The  number  of  vehicles  used  in  milk  delivery  for  both  wholesale  and 
retail  trade  in  the  City  of  Rochester  is  207  wagons  and  71  automobiles, 
or  a  total  of  278.  The  reports  indicate  that  304  men  are  employed  in  the 
retail  delivery  and  179  in  the  wholesale  delivery.  The  figure  179,  how- 
ever, includes  a  number  of  the  men  who  are  also  working  on  the  retail 
delivery.  The  total  number  of  man  hours  consumed  for  Rochester  is 
1,769,  and  the  rate  of  delivery  both  wholesale  and  retail  is  43.8  quarts  per 
man  hour,  and  279  quarts  per  wagon  for  all  classes  of  trade. 

It  will  be  noted  that  company  No.  8  in  the  list  delivers  milk  at  the 
rate  of  594.6  quarts  per  wagon;  company  No.  5  at  the  rate  of  439.8;  com- 
pany No.  4  at  the  rate  of  432 ;  and  company  No.  1  at  the  rate  of  392.6. 

A  review  of  the  volume  of  milk  carried  on  the  wagons  of  the  com-x 
panics  in  the  list,  and  of  the  opportunities  for  efficiency  under  a  cen- 
tralized system  justifies  the  belief  that  the  number  of  quarts  per  wagon 
delivered  by  the  company  showing  the  highest  degree  of  efficiency,  which 
is  594.6  quarts,  could  be  approached  under  a  centralized  delivery  system. 
The  more  correct  method  of  measurement,  however,  is  the  number  of 
quarts  delivered  per  man  hour.  It  will  be  noted  that  company  No.  8 
delivers  74.3  quarts  per  man  hour,  while  company  No.  5  delivers  68.8 
quarts  per  man  hour.  We  will  therefore  assume  that  under  a  centralized 
system  as  much  as  70  quarts  per  man  hour  could  be  delivered.  Using  the 
average  wage  scale  for  the  City  of  Rochester  for  milk  delivery  of  .46  per 
man  hour  gives  a  cost  per  quart  of  .006571,  and  an  annual  cost  under  a 
centralized  system  for  the  labor  of  milk  delivery  of  $186,078.53.  These 
figures  show  a  total  saving  under  a  centralized  system  for  each  quart  of 
milk  of  .003922,  and  a  total  annual  saving  on  the  entire  supply  of  the 
city  of  $111,038.77. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  these  figures  do  not  include  the  entire 
cost  of  milk  delivery  or  the  entire  savings  that  can  be  effected  on  milk 
delivery  under  a  centralized  system.  The  figures  here  presented  refer 
only  to  the  pay  roll  or  salaries  of  the  milk  drivers,  and  not  to  any  other 
item  of  expense  connected  with  the  cost  of  distribution.  Other  such 
items,  for  example,  as  the  cost  of  feeding  horses,  stable  charges,  the  cost 
of  wagons,  depreciation,  the  cost  of  harness  and  other  stable  and  wagon 
supplies,  the  cost  of  ice,  etc.,  are  all  expenses  belonging  to  the  cost  of 
milk  delivery.  These  items  will  be  discussed  later  on.  The  saving  of 
$111,038.77  is  a  saving  strictly  limited  to  the  pay  roll,  or  salaries  of  milk 
drivers. 

If  70  quarts  per  man  hour  is  a  fair  estimate  of  the  number  of  quarts 
delivered,  and  each  driver  is  employed  for  an  8-hour  day,  this  would 
mean  a  total  delivery  for  each  man  of  560  quarts  daily.  For  the  entire 
amount  of  milk  sold  in  the  City  of  Rochester  at  the  time  these  figures 


128  MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

were  taken,  amounting  to  77,579  quarts,  a  wagon  delivery  of  560  quarts 
per  wagon  would  require  only  139  wagons,  instead  of  278  now  employed. 
This  would  be  a  saving  of  139  wagons,  and  would  mean  therefore  a  re- 
duction of  the  present  number  of  wagons  by  one-half. 

In  the  experiment  in  milk  delivery  conducted  under  the  direction  of 
Dr.  John  R.  Williams  in  1911,  he  concluded  that  one  truck  drawn  by  two 
horses  and  manned  by  three  men  could  deliver  an  average  of  3,200  quarts 
of  milk  in  one  working  day  of  eight  hours.  This  was  at  the  rate  of  400 
quarts  per  hour  for  3  men,  or  133  quarts  per  man  hour.  In  some  cities 
where  the  distributing  business  is  in  the  hands  of  companies  having  almost 
a  monopoly,  the  use  of  two  horses  on  a  wagon  and  two  men  has  greatly 
increased  the  number  of  quarts  delivered  per  man  hour.  Under  a  cen- 
tralized system  where  the  business  of  milk  delivery  was  in  the  hands  of 
one  company  it  seems  fair  to  believe  that  in  many  sections  of  the  city 
larger  delivery  wagons  than  the  one-horse  wagons  now  used  could  be 
used  to  advantage,  drawn  by  two  horses  and  operated  by  two  or  more 
men,  with  an  increased  volume  of  milk  per  man  hour. 

The  figures  given  above  in  our  estimate  are  based  on  actual  business 
conditions  as  at  present  existing  in  some  cities. 

HAULING  FROM  RAILROAD  PLATFORM  TO  MILK  PLANT 

X 

Many  milk  factories  are  so  located  in  the  city  that  they  are  some 
distance  from  the  railroad  terminals  at  which  milk  is  received,  conse- 
quently it  becomes  necessary  to  employ  trucks  for  carting  milk  from  the 
railroad  platform  to  the  milk  factory.  Considerable  expense  attaches  it- 
self to  the  labor  of  loading  and  unloading  these  trucks,  even  though  the 
actual  distance  traveled  between  the  railroad  and  the  milk  plant  is  short. 
The  variation  in  the  distance  and  in  the  time  consumed  makes  accurate 
comparisons  of  costs  impossible. 

It  is  of  value,  however,  to  compare  the  cost  of  this  work  among  the 
different  companies  in  our  list,  for  the  reason  that  some  economies  can  be 
secured  through  the  trucking  of  milk  under  a  centralized  system,  as  com- 
pared with  trucking  the  same  milk  under  a  competitive  system.  The 
comparisons  of  this  work  as  performed  by  the  different  companies  are 
shown  in  the  Table  No.  60. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


129 


TABLE  No.  60 
HAULING   FROM   RAILROAD   PLATFORM   TO   MILK  PLANT 


Number  of  Company. 

Quarts 
Carried. 

Number  of 
Employees.  || 

a 

rt     . 

se 

3-3 

$* 

«l 

P& 

£  o 

<-<  rt 
03^ 
S« 

a 

l'{ 

|a 

0 

1 

20,417 
16,056 
4,346 
65,800 
6,343 
2,740 
54,072 
43,070 

3 
6 
2 
7 
2 
1 
93 
9 

20 
37 
10.5 
66.0 
6.00 
3.00 
138.8 
81.00 

1,021 
434 
414 
997 
1,057 
913 
390 
532 

.000323 
.000789 
.000702 
.000397 
.000751 
.000475 
.001134 
.000754 

.001134 
.000442 

Yearly  Cost 
22,389.10 
8,723.44 

2     

3    .    . 

4     

5     

6     

7-R,    Av.    . 

8    

Present   Rochester   cost 
Rochester  cost  under  ce 

Saving  under  centralize 

ntralized  syst 
d  system  

em 

.000692 

$13,665.66 

In  Table  No.  60  it  appears  that  54,072  quarts  of  the  milk  received 
by  the  City  of  Rochester  arrives  by  rail  and  is  carried  in  trucks,  handled 
by  93  employees  working  138.8  man  hours,  at  the  rate  of  390  quarts  per 
man  hour,  and  at  a  cost  of  .001134  per  quart.  This  means  that  the  annual 
cost  of  trucking  for  the  City  of  Rochester  under  present  conditions  is 
$22,389.10.  This  represents  the  milk  hauled  from  the  railroad  to  the 
numerous  plants  in  the  city  which  obtained  their  milk  in  this  way.  Under 
the  present  system  not  only  is  this  milk  hauled  from  the  railroad  in  the 
trucks  of  the  large  dealers,  but  in  the  wagons  of  the  numerous  small 
dealers  who  obtained  their  milk  from  the  railroad. 

A  study  of  the  number  of  quarts  per  man  hour  in  the  above  table 
shows  that  two  companies  handle  more  than  1,000  quarts  per  man  hour, 
and  two  other  companies  between  900  and  1,000.  One  thousand  quarts 
of  milk  means  only  25  40-quart  cans,  or  31  32-quart  cans.  This  is  not  a 
very  heavy  load  for  a  medium  size  truck,  and  it  seems  reasonable  to 
believe  that  under  a  well  organized  trucking  system  one  man  could  handle 
at  least  25  40-quart  cans,  or  31  32-quart  cans  per  hour,  from  the  rail- 
road to  the  milk  plant.  On  this  assumption,  using  the  average  wage  scale 
for  drivers  performing,  this  work  in  the  City  of  Rochester  of  .442  per 
hour,  the  cost  per  quart  under  a  centralized  system  would  be  .000442,  and 
the  annual  cost  $8,723.44.  This  would  mean  a  saving  per  quart  of  .000692, 
and  an  annual  saving  of  $13,665.66. 


130 


MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


STABLE  AND  GARAGE 

Some  of  the  companies  in  the  list  deliver  milk  only  by  the  use  of 
horses,  others  use  automobiles  to  some  extent.  The  labor  in  caring  for 
horses  and  in  caring  for  the  automobiles  used  has  been  combined  for  all 
companies  in  Table  No.  61. 

TABLE  No.  61 
STABLE  AND  GARAGE 


Number  of  Company. 

w.^ 

0$ 
ll 

en 

«» 

2  3 

H 

£  c 

S-H   rt 

o 

^  rt 

C/5     3 

6? 

"tJ  ° 

5 

1 

20,417 
16,056 
4,346 
65,800 
9,000 
8,000 
82,075 
43,070 

12 
7 
6 
22 
3 
4 
168 
11 

115 
62 
36 
198.9 
27 
29 
256.7 
84.2 

177 
258 
121 
331 
333 
276 
320 
512 

.001165 
.000912 
.002108 
.001151 
.000984 
.001589 

!000799 

.001357 
.000868 

Yearly  Cost 
$40,661.00 
26,003.00 

2     

3     

4    

5    

6 

7-R    Av 

8    

Present  Rochester  cost  . 

Rochester  cost  under  centralized  syster 
Saving  under  centralized  system  

n 

.000487 

$14,658.00 

In  Table  No.  61  it  will  be  noted  that  for  the  City  of  Rochester  there 
are  168  men  employed  in  caring  for  horses  and  automobiles  working 
256.7  man  hours  at  the  rate  of  320  quarts  of  milk  per  man  hour,  and  at 
a  cost  of  .001357  per  quart.  The  most  efficient  company  operates  at  the 
rate  of  512  quarts  per  man  hour.  This  company  has  a  practical  monopoly 
of  the  business  in  its  city,  and  its  efficiency  is  due  to  the  fact  that  its 
horses  are  all  in  one  large  up-to-date  stable  with  every  facility  for  efficient 
handling,  and  its  automobiles  in  one  garage  adjoining  the  stable. 

Under  the  present  system  in  Rochester  there  are  numerous  small 
horse  stables  and  garages  scattered  throughout  the  city,  each  company 
being  possessed  of  one  or  more.  Under  this  system  the  present  yearly 
cost  for  labor  is  $40,661.  It  is  obvious  that  if  these  numerous  small 
stables  and  garages  were  abandoned  and  the  horses  and  automobiles  cared 
for  in  larger  units,  there  would  be  considerable  saving  in  these  labor 
charges.  It  is  believed  to  be  fair  to  assume  that  the  efficiency  in  quarts 
per  man  hour  would  approach  that  of  the  most  efficient  company  in  the 
list.  Assuming  500  quarts  per  man  hour  as  the  basis  under  a  centralized 
system,  and  using  the  Rochester  average  wage  scale  of  .434  per  hour,  the 
cost  under  a  centralized  system  would  be  .000868  per  quart,  and  a  yearly 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


131 


cost  of  $26,003.    This  would  mean  an  annual  saving  of  .000487  per  quart, 
and  $14,658  per  year. 

ENGINE  ROOM  AND  REFRIGERATING  PLANT 

Only  a  small  number  of  the  companies  in  Rochester  operate  an  engine 
room  and  boiler,  and  a  still  smaller  number  operate  a  refrigeration  plant. 
These  charges  have  been  combined  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the 
total  expense  for  the  operation  of  all  of  these  plants  in  Table  No.  62. 

TABLE  No.  62 
ENGINE  ROOM  AND  REFRIGERATING  PLANT 


Number  of  Company. 

Quarts  of  Milk 
Received. 

Number  of 
Employees. 

d 

rt  ^ 

S  ™ 

I* 

fe  o 
£  c 

Is 

a 

«-i  ^j 

|a 
u 

.'• 

1                        

20,417 

.005383 

2    

16,056 

6 

60 

268 

.001799 

3      

4,346 

2 

22 

198 

.001710 

4            

65,800 

11 

92 

715 

.000839 

5                       

9,000 

2 

18 

500 

.000794 

6                          

8,000 

1 

8 

1,000 

.000750 

7-R   Av                    ... 

55,194 

67 

123.7 

446 

.001009 

8     '         

43,070 

8 

72 

598 

.000801 

.001009 

Yearly  Cost 
$20,319.55 

syst 

em 

.000558 

16,714.08 

Saving  under  centralizec 

.  system. 



.000451 

$3,605.47 

The  total  number  of  quarts  of  milk  in  Rochester  which  is  distributed 
by  companies  operating  engine  rooms  and  by  companies  operating  refrig- 
erating plants  also  is  55,194  quarts.  The  work  is  performed  by  67  men 
working  123.7  hours  at  the  rate  of  446  quarts  of  milk  per  man  hour,  and 
at  a  cost  of  .001009  per  quart.  The  yearly  cost  of  operating  these  plants 
under  present  conditions  is  $20,319.55. 

An  inspection  of  the  figures  in  Table  No.  62  shows  great  variation  in 
the  cost  per  quart  and  in  the  number  of  quarts  per  man  hour.  Factories 
Nos.  1  and  8  had  a  large  ice  cream  business  in  addition  to  their  milk, 
business  using  the  same  power  plant  and  refrigerating  plant,  and  the  costs 
of  operating  the  entire  plant  are  therefore  larger  than  they  would  be  for 
milk  alone.  Plants  Nos.  3,  5  and  6  are  comparatively  small,  and  are 
equipped  with  power  machinery  and  refrigerating  machinery  which  be- 
cause of  its  small  size  cannot  give  the  economies  that  would  be  obtained 
from  machinery  large  enough  to  furnish  power  and  refrigeration  for  the 


132  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

entire  milk  supply  of  the  City  of  Rochester.  Plant  No.  4,  which  is  the 
largest  sized  plant  in  the  list,  is  able  to  furnish  power  and  refrigeration 
through  the  labor  of  11  employees  working  92  man  hours.  This  plant  is 
admittedly  at  the  present  time  not  equipped  with  the  best  type  of  equip- 
ment. We  have  selected  as  a  fair  basis  for  the  labor  of  operating  the 
engine  room  and  refrigerating  plant  of  a  sufficient  size  to  furnish  power 
and  refrigeration  for  the  entire  milk  supply  of  Rochester  the  labor  of  12 
employees  at  8  hours  daily,  or  a  total  of  96  man  hours.  Using  the  average 
Rochester  wage  scale  of  .477  per  hour,  this  would  give  a  cost  per  quart 
for  the  entire  milk  supply  of  82,075  quarts  of  .000558  per  quart,  and  a 
yearly  cost  of  $16,714.08. 

In  considering  this  figure,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  at  the  present 
time  only  55,144  quarts  of  the  milk  supply  of  the  city  is  handled  by 
power  plants  and  refrigerating  plants  worthy  of  the  name.  It  would  be 
expected  therefore  that  considerable  additional  expense  would  be  neces- 
sary to  furnish  proper  machinery  of  this  kind  for  the  handling  of  the 
entire  milk  supply,  consequently  under  a  centralized  system  one  would 
not  expect  to  show  a  saving  in  this  department  of  the  business  which 
would  correspond  to  the  savings  shown  in  other  departments  as  the  result 
of  a  centralized  system.  The  savings  per  quart  from  the  above  figures 
would  be  .000451,  and  the  annual  saving  through  abandoning  the  numer- 
ous small  boilers,  engines,  and  refrigerating  plants,  and  centralizing  this 
work  in  large  plants  would  be  $3,605.47. 

Under  such  a  centralized  system  the  greatest  advantage  obtained 
would  consist  in  the  application  of  the  best  possible  methods  of  steriliza- 
tion and  of  pasteurization  and  cooling  of  the  entire  supply. 

PLANT  PROTECTION 

This  item  of  expense  refers  to  the  fact  that  factories  which  contain 
valuable  machinery  and  equipment  must  employ  night  watchmen  as  care- 
takers. In  the  City  of  Rochester  at  the  present  time  there  are  onlv  2 
men  employed  in  this  way.  The  cost  of  these  men  is  $4.17  daily,  as  they 
only  work  part  time  on  this  service.  This  is  a  yearly  cost  of  $1,522.45. 
Under  a  centralized  system  the  services  of  these  men  would  still  be  neces- 
sary, and  we  would  not  anticipate  any  great  reduction  in  this  cost. 

EXPERIMENTAL 

This  item  refers  to  the  operation  of  laboratories  for  the  testing  of 
milk  for  butter  fat  and  for  bacteria.  In  five  of  the  plants  in  the  list  such 
laboratories  are  operated,  while  in  the  City  of  Rochester  under  the 
auspices  of  the  milk  dealers  themselves  there  are  no  such  laboratories  or 
laboratory  workers.  The  cost  of  performing  this  work  in  the  five  plants 
mentioned  is  shown  in  Table  No.  63. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


133 


TABLE  No.  63 
EXPERIMENTAL 


ii 

•-M     ^ 

-i 

Number  of 

> 

u   O 

VH  c/5 

SA 

«i  ^j 

Company. 

•2'§ 

ft 

^  3 

j2  c 
§S 

a  rt 

^_,  3 

a 

fc 

H 

a 

L) 

1         

20,417 

4 

.000127 

2                   

16056 

4 

000234 

3                              

4346 

4 

000157 

4 

65800 

55 

44 

000275 

5 

6 

7-R  Av       

8                         

43070 

2 

18 

.000199 

Yearly  Cost 

Present  Rochester  cost                              

.00000 

.00000 

Cost  under  centralized    system 

.000081 

$2,080.00 

Additional    expense    

.000081 

$2.080.00 

The  cost  of  the  operation  of  laboratories  is  difficult  to  standardize, 
for  the  reason  that  the  amount  of  work  depends  greatly  on  local  condi- 
tions, and  how  much  experimental  work  the  management  of  the  milk 
plant  desires  to  carry  out.  In  the  plants  listed  in  Table  No.  63  it  can  be 
seen  that  the  first  three  plants  employ  four  laboratory  workers  each,  while 
plant  No.  8  employs  only  two  such  workers.  Under  a  centralized  system 
it  is  clear  that  only  one  laboratory  would  be  necessary.  A  fair  basis  for 
the  testing  of  the  milk  supply  of  Rochester  under  such  a  centralized  sys- 
tem would  be  two  laboratory  workers,  working  a  total  of  16  man  hours 
at  a  cost  of  .41'  per  hour.  This  would  be  a  cost  of  .000081  per  quart,  or 

$2,080.00. 

OFFICE  FORCE 

Only  a  small  number  of  the  milk  companies  in  the  City  of  Rochester 
make  any  attempt  to  keep  books.  The  cost  accountants  employed  by  the 
Survey  found  only  four  companies  who  kept  books  by  methods  sufficiently 
accurate  to  justify  the  use  of  the  figures  as  a  basis  for  the  costs  reported 
by  them.  The  bookkeepers  employed  by  these  companies  and  the  small 
amount  of  bookkeeping  done  by  a  number  of  the  other  companies  in- 
cluded a  total  volume  of  business  of  56,687  quarts  of  milk.  The  total 
number  of  persons  employed  in  keeping  such  accounts  for  Rochester  is 
72,  working  for  a  period  of  297  man  hours,  at  the  rate  of  191  quarts  of 
milk  per  man  hour,  and  at  a  cost  of  .002042  per  quart.  Included  in  these 
72  persons  are  about  47  who  work  on  an  average  of  about  two  hours  per 
day  on  their  milk  accounts.  The  bookkeepers  employed  by  all  of  the  com- 
panies, including  Rochester,  and  the  work  performed  is  shown  in  Table 
No.  64. 


134 


MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  64 
OFFICE   FORCE 


c/5 

jj 

Number  of         * 

*OJ 

!-,    O 

e 

oS     . 

S.W 

!->   ^J 

Company. 

5  " 

J3    g1 

^_   3 

"tl  rt 

ft  rt 

rtpS 

y 

SK 

go 

0 

»  . 

H 

a 

0 

1                    

20,417 

31 

144.6 

141 

.002944 

2 

16056 

70 

120 

133 

.003307 

3 

4346 

§ 

41 

106 

003508 

4 

65800 

si 

370 

177 

002998 

5    

9,000 

s 

42.5 

212 

.002399 

6      

8,000 

6 

440 

182 

.001750 

7-R  Av                

56687 

7? 

297.0 

191 

.002043 

8 

43070 

Q 

81.0 

532 

.000713 

Yearly  Cost 

Present  Rochester  costs                      

002043 

$42,263.35 

Rochester  costs  under  centralized  system            .... 

.000780 

23,366.75 

Savings  under  centralized  system  

.001263 

$18,896.60 

The  present  cost  of  the  bookkeeping  which  is  being  done  is  $42,263.35 
per  year.  An  inspection  of  the  work  performed  by  the  companies  in 
Table  No.  64  shows  a  most  remarkable  difference  between  the  cost  of 
bookkeeping  in  company  No.  8,  and  the  cost  in  all  of  the  other  com- 
panies. This  low  cost  might  be  attributed  to  a  difference  in  wage  scales 
if  one  overlooked  the  number  of  bookkeepers  employed,  but  an  inspection 
of  the  table  shows  that  plant  No.  8  employs  only  nine  bookkeepers  to 
keep  accounts  for  43,070  quarts  of  milk,  which  is  at  the  rate  of  532 
quarts  per  man  hour.  No  other  company  in  the  list  employs  so  small  a 
number  of  bookkeepers  for  the  volume  of  milk.  It  might  also  be  as- 
sumed that  the  books  of  company  No.  8  were  not  properly  kept.  This, 
however,  is  answered  by  an  inspection  of  the  costs  in  all  other  depart- 
ments of  the  business.  A  review  of  the  tabulations  will  show  that  in  the 
majority  of  the  labor  costs  plant  No.  8  has  lower  costs  than  the  other 
companies,  and  this  is  convincing  evidence  that  the  business  in  plant  No. 
8  is  well  managed. 

The  real  reason  for  the  low  cost  of  bookkeeping  in  plant  No.  8  is 
in  the  system  of  accounting  which  has  been  adopted.  There  is  such  a 
thing  as  too  much  bookkeeping  and  too  much  detail  in  the  accounts  which 
are  kept  of  the  milk  business.  What  is  required  is  to  keep  only  such 
accounts  as  will  furnish  to  the  management  the  information  necessary  for 
administering  the  business  in  the  most  efficient  manner.  This  seems  to 
have  been  accomplished  to  a  remarkable  degree  in  the  business  of  com- 
pany No.  8,  consequently  with  such  results  in  mind  it  seems  proper  to 
assume  as  a  basis  for  a  centralized  system  such  a  system  of  bookkeeping 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  135 

as  this.  It  is  therefore  assumed  that  under  a  centralized  system  for  Roch- 
eter  the  number  of  employees  in  an  accounting  system  of  the  same  kind 
would  work  at  the  rate  of  500  quarts  per  man  hour.  Applying  the  Roch- 
ester wage  scale  for  bookkeepers  of  .390  per  hour  would  make  the  cost 
per  quart  for  the  entire  milk  supply  of  Rochester  for  bookkeeping  .000780 
per  quart,  and  the  yearly  cost  $23,36675. 

This  would  result  in  a  saving  of  .001263  per  quart/and  $18,896.60  per 
year.  In  considering  these  savings  it  must  be  remembered  that  under  the 
centralized  system  the  costs  suggested  would  provide  an  adequate  book- 
keeping system  for  the  entire  milk  supply  of  Rochester  of  82,075  quarts, 
while  the  present  costs  for  the  city  are  applied  to  only  56,687  quarts.  The 
extension  of  the  bookkeeping  system  to  the  entire  supply,  therefore,  in- 
cludes an  expense  which  is  not  provided  for  by  the  present  system.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  economies  under  the  centralized  system  are  so  great 
that  they  would  show  the  savings  indicated.  The  actual  number  of  book- 
keepers necessary  under  the  centralized  system  would  be  24,  working 
seven  hours  daily. 

COLLECTORS 

One  of  the  most  important  items  of  expense  in  milk  distribution 
consists  in  the  labor  of  collecting  money  from  milk  consumers.  The  ma- 
jority of  milk  consumers  pay  cash  for  milk  at  least  once  a  week.  This 
cash  is  collected  in  most  instances  by  the  milk  drivers.  Among  the  larger 
companies,  however,  a  few  special  collectors  are  employed  for  this  pur- 
pose. In  securing  information  from  the  Rochester  companies  regarding 
the  cost  of  distribution,  the  number  of  hours  spent  by  the  milk  drivers 
and  by  these  special  collectors  and  the  cost  were  estimated  independently 
of  the  cost  of  driving  retail  and  wholesale  routes.  For  the  82,075  quarts 
of  milk  received  daily,  the  number  of  men  engaged  in  collecting  money 
from  the  reports  obtained  was  186.  It  seems  probable,  however,  that  all 
of  the  men  engaged  in  driving  both  retail  and  wholesale  routes  at  times 
take  part  in  the  work  of  milk  collection. 

The  men  reported  as  doing  this  work  were  engaged  for  a  period  of 
415.2  man  hours  daily  which  is  at  the  rate  of  128  quarts  per  man  hour  at 
a  cost  per  quart  of  .002221  per  quart.  In  assuming  the  yearly  cost  Sun- 
days are  omitted  as  it  is  assumed  that  the  collectors  do  not  make  a  business 
of  collection  on  Sundays.  On  this  basis  the  yearly  cost  is  $57,069.29. 
Under  a  centralized  system  the  reduction  in  the  cost  of  milk  collections 
would  depend  chiefly  on  the  reduction  in  the  number  of  milk  wagons  and 
milk  drivers.  In  the  table  on  driving  retail  and  wholesale  routes  it  is 
estimated  that  the  milk  supply  of  Rochester  could  be  delivered  with  139 
wagons  as  against  the  278  wagons  now  used.  A  comparison  of  the  cost 
of  milk  collection  and  of  the  work  performed  in  this  department  of  the 


136 


MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 


business  by  the  companies  whose  figures  have  been  used  in  previous  tables 
appears  in  Table  No.  65. 

TABLE  No.  65 

i 

COLLECTORS 


9 

<+*  v 

a 

IN 

Number  of    Company. 

cn'o 

k"§, 

S  2 

£>    C 

i^t! 

( 

t:  £ 

*G    £ 

—  "   o 

t!   a3 

2 

rt  r£ 

C  pq 

K 

03^ 

I^O 

a 

» 

H 

0 

U 

1 

2 

3    

4,346 

2 

6 

724 

.000657 

4    

5    

9000 

3 

255 

353 

001210 

6    

8000 

2 

170 

471 

000892 

7-R  Av 

82075 

186 

4152 

198 

002221 

8 

Yearly  Cost 

Present  Rochester  costs  

.002221 

$57,069.29 

Rochester  costs  under  centralized  system  

.001110 

28,534.64 

Savings  under  centralized   svstem  

.001110 

$28,534.64 

From  Table  No.  65  it  is  to  be  noted  that  four  of  the  companies  em- 
ploy no  collectors.  In  these  cases  the  entire  work  of  milk  collection  is 
performed  by  the  milk  drivers  themselves,  the  expense  of  collecting  being 
included  in  the  drivers'  wages.  Company  No.  8,  which  is  the  most  effi- 
cient company  in  the  list,  employs  no  milk  collectors,  the  wage  scale  for 
milk  drivers  being  no  higher  than  the  wage  scale  for  milk  drivers  in 
Rochester.  In  order  to  stimulate  milk  collection,  part  of  the  wages  of 
the  drivers  consists  of  premiums  paid  on  the  amount  of  money  collected. 

Under  such  conditions  it  would  not  be  necessary  under  a  centralized 
system  to  add  any  expense  above  the  drivers'  wage  scale  for  milk  collec- 
tion. In  order,  however,  to  make  the  estimate  of  cost  under  a  centralized 
system  a  liberal  one,  it  will  be  assumed  that  all  of  the  drivers  of  the  139 
delivery  wagons  under  the  centralized  system  receive  additional  com- 
pensation above  their  wages  in  premiums  for  milk  collection,  and  since  the 
number  of  wagons  is  exactly  one-half  the  present  number  employed  by  the 
City  of  Rochester,  a  fair  basis  for  the  cost  of  milk  collection  would  be 
one-half  of  the  present  cost.  This  would  amount  to  .001110  per  quart, 
and  an  annual  cost  of  $28,534.64.  This  would  result  in  a  saving  of 
.001110  per  quart,  and  an  annual  saving  of  $28,534.64  on  this  item. 

SUPERINTENDENCE 

As  a  special  item  of  milk  delivery  expense  there  has  been  separated 
from  the  other  items  the  cost  of  superintendence.  This  refers  to  the  em- 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


137 


ployment  of  men  who  are  not  members  of  the  administrative  staff,  but 
who  are  in  charge  of  such  operations  as  pasteurizing  and  other  plant 
operations,  livery  stable,  wagon  house,  and  other  departments  of  the 
business.  Their  salaries  do  not  come  under  the  head  of  ordinary  labor 
or  of  administrative  salaries.  In  the  City  of  Rochester  the  majority  of 
milk  dealers  do  not  employ  such  men;  only  four  of  the  larger  milk  com- 
panies have  them  on  their  pay  roll.  The  number  of  quarts  of  milk  repre- 
sented by  these  companies  is  20,236  quarts.  The  number  of  man  hours 
which  these  superintendents  work  is  73  daily,  representing  277  quarts  per 
man  hour,  at  a  cost  of  .002440  per  quart.  The  yearly  cost  is  $18,023.70. 
Under  a  centralized  system  the  number  of  superintendents  necessary 
would  be  reduced  because  the  departments  over  which  they  exercised 
their  authority  would  be  centralized.  It  is  estimated  that  not  more  than 
four  superinendents  would  be  required.  Work  of  superintendents  has 
been  tabulated  in  Table  No.  66. 

TABLE  No.  66 
SUPERINTENDENCE 


Number  of  Company. 

Milk 
Received. 

Number  of 
Employees. 

C/5 

J_ 

3 

o 

H 

d 

ClJ 

2 

i-,' 

J-i    3 

<U   O 

aK 
v\ 

P 

|ti 
*J 

6° 

1                                

20,417 
16,056 
4,346 
65,800 

8,000 
20,236 
43,070 

3 
4 
1 
4 

4 
8 

1 

24 
36 
10 
40 

32 

73 
7 

851 
446 
851 
1,645 

250 
277 
6,161 

.000673 
.001290 
.001150 
.000477 

.003179 
.002440 
.000093 

.002440 
.000348 

Yearly  Cost 
$18,023.70 
10,428.05 

2    

3             

4          

5                  

6                     

7_R   AV                  

8    

Rochester  costs  under  centralized  system 
Savings  under  centralized   system  

.002092 

$7,595.65 

It  will  be  noted  in  Table  No.  66  that  company  No.  8  handles  43,000 
quarts  daily  with  one  superintendent ;  No.  4  handles  65,800  quarts  daily 
with  four  superintendents.  It  seems  a  fair  basis  to  assume  that  the  total 
milk  supply  of  Rochester  of  82,075  quarts  could  be  handled  under  the 
supervision  of  four  superintendents  working  for  10  hours  daily  (five  hours 
Sundays)  or  a  period  of  65  hours  a  week.  The  present  Rochester  wage 
scale  is  .676.  With  larger  responsibility  these  men  undoubtedly  would 
have  to  have  as  much  as  .769  per  hour,  which  amounts  to  $50.00  per 
week.  This  would  make  a  cost  under  the  centralized  system  for  super- 
intendence of  .000348  per  quart,  or  $10,428.05  per  year. 


138 


MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


This  would  result  in  a  saving  over  the  present  charges  of  .002092  per 
quart,  and  $7,595.65  per  year.  It  must  be  remembered  in  considering 
these  figures  that  superintendence  is  exercised  at  the  present  time  over 
only  20,236  quarts  of  the  Rochester  milk  supply,  while  under  the  cen- 
tralized system  this  superintendence  would  be  exercised  over  the  entire 
supply  of  82,075  quarts. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

In  all  of  the  large  milk  plants  there  are  employed  laborers  who  per- 
form miscellaneous  services.  They  may  assist  in  the  labor  of  various 
departments  at  different  times,  and  perform  odd  pieces  of  work,  such 
as  the  handling  of  freight,  supplies,  repairing,  painting,  cleaning,  and  other 
such  services.  Under  this  item  for  the  City  of  Rochester  are  listed  21 
employees  in  plants  handling  17,187  quarts  daily,  working  for  a  period  of 
69.5  man  hours  daily  at  the  rate  of  247  quarts  per  man  hour,  and  at  a  cost 
of  .001448  per  quart.  In  some  of  the  other  companies  in  the  list  there 
are  also  employed  men  under  this  head,  as  shown  in  Table  No.  67. 

TABLE  No.  67 
MISCELLANEOUS 


»u 

C/j 

. 

r^Q 

~o£ 

c 

rt 

u  o 

Number  of  Company. 

»H      0 

<U  rs 

0<ffi 

£t! 

^  S1 

^ 

J2  c 

»  o3 

Cti    <J 

II 

IK 

1-1   aS 

go 

a 

£ 

H 

a 

u 

1 

20417 

5 

305 

669 

000336 

2 

3 

4 

65800 

5 

49 

1  342 

000257 

5    

6    

8000 

3 

28 

285 

001000 

7-R,  Av  

17187 

21 

695 

247 

001448 

8      

43070 

3 

1950 

2208 

000172 

Present  Rochester  costs 

001448 

Yearly  Cost 
$9  081  20 

Rochester  costs  under  centralized  system  

000236 

7  056  18 

Savings  under  centralized  system  

.001212 

$2,025.02 

In  Table  No.  67  it  will  be  noted  that  company  No.  8,  handling  43,070 
quarts,  employs  only  3  men  as  miscellaneous  workers,  and  that  company 
No.  4,  handling  65,800  quarts,  employs  only  5  such  men.  It  seems  fair  to 
assume,  therefore,  that  the  Rochester  milk  supply  of  82,075  quarts  re- 
quires only  six  such  men.  Applying  the  Rochester  wage  scale  of  .358  per 
hour  to  these  men,  and  assuming  that  they  work  nine  hours  each,  or  54 
hours  daily,  the  total  yearly  cost  would  be  $19,332.  This  would  make  a 
cost  per  quart  under  the  centralized  system  of  .000236  per  quart,  and  a 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 139 

yearly  cost  of  $7,056.18.  This  shows  a  saving  of  .001212  per  quart,  and 
an  annual  saving  of  $2,025.02.  It  must  be  remembered  in  considering  these 
figures  that  the  number  of  quarts  of  Rochester  milk  in  the  above  table  on 
which  the  miscellaneous  labor  was  reported  was  only  17,187  quarts,  and 
that  under  the  centralized  system  the  labor  is  applied  to  the  entire  supply. 

CANVASSERS 

Two  of  the  Rochester  milk  companies  employ  canvassers.  These 
men  are  used  to  solicit  new  trade.  Their  services  constitute  a  part  of  the 
present  competitive  system.  Under  a  centralized  system  where  there 
would  be  no  competition  canvassers  would  not  be  necessary.  The  present 
cost  per  quart  for  the  services  of  these  canvassers  is  based  on  12,836 
quarts  handled  by  the  companies  which  employ  them.  This  is  at  the  rate 
of  .001905  per  quart,  and  a  yearly  cost  of  $8,924.25.  Under  the  central- 
ized system  there  would  be  no  such  item  of  expense,  and  therefore  the 
annual  saving  would  be  $8,924.25. 

OFFICERS 

The  136  milk  distributing  companies  in  Rochester  are  all  of  them 
owned  by  proprietors  or  stock  companies.  In  one  sense,  therefore,  all  of 
these  companies  are  manned  by  officers.  Since,  however,  the  small 
dealers  embody  in  the  person  of  one  or  two  men  all  of  the  functions  of 
the  business,  the  item  of  officers  is  limited  strictly  to  the  officers  of  the 
four  large  companies  in  Rochester  which  reported  officers  drawing 
salaries.  This  covers  23,836  quarts  of  the  milk  supplied,  which  is  at  the 
rate  of  2,954  quarts  per  officer,  and  their  salaries  amount  to  .004893  per 
quart,  and  annually  $42,573.60.  Under  a  centralized  system,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  not  more  than  three  officers  would  be  required  at  salaries 
amounting  to  not  more  than  $20,000.00  per  year  for  three.  This  would 
be  at  the  rate  of  .000668  per  quart.  Under  the  centralized  system  there- 
fore there  would  be  a  saving  of  .000225  per  quart,  and  $22,573.60  per 
year.  The  above  figures,  it  must  be  remembered,  are  based  on  the  cost 
of  officers'  salaries  for  companies  handling  only  23,836  quarts  of  milk 
daily  at  the  present  time  in  Rochester,  while  under  the  centralized  system 
the  salaries  would  apply  to  the  entire  Rochester  supply.  The  officers' 
salaries  are  tabulated  in  Table  No.  68. 


140 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  68 
OFFICERS 


1 

^j 

•B 

rt 

Number  of  Company. 

c2 

O   tfi 

I*    0 

^fc 

o*^ 

in  ^ 

CJ    CJ 

v)  a 

p,'5 

is 

"I* 
30 

lo 

|(S 

a 

* 

a 

u 

1   ..:.. 

20,417  ] 

002023 

2  

16,056  }• 

-5 

002693 

3 

4346J 

002257 

4 

65800 

9000 

3 

3000 

005966 

6  I::/:::::::::::::::::::; 

siooo 

2 

4,000 

.003427 

7-R,   Av     

23836 

8 

2,954 

.004893 

8  

43070 

1 

43,070 

.000386 

Yearly  Cost 

Present  Rochester  cost              .             

004893 

$42  573  60 

Rochester  cost  under  centralized  system 

000668 

20  000  00 

Savings  under  centralized  svstem  

.000225 

$22,573.60 

ECONOMIES  IN  MILK  DISTRIBUTION 
Comparative  Wage  Scale 

The  economies  suggested  in  the  above  series  of  tabulations  will  un- 
doubtedly be  criticised  by  some  on  the  ground  that  the  wage  scale  in  the 
different  companies  is  different,  and  this  wage  scale  is  the  chief  reason 
for  the  difference  in  costs.  This  possibility  has  not  been  overlooked  by 
the  Survey. 

It  is  fully  recognized  that  the  difference  in  wage  scales  would  affect 
the  difference  in  costs.  In  the  estimates  made  above  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  the  economies  suggested  have  not  been  based  on  the 
cost  in  dollars,  but  on  the  work  performed  per  man  hour  in  the  majority 
of  instances.  Consequently,  these  economies  are  entirely  independent  of 
the  wage  scale,  being  based  on  the  efficiency  of  the  work  performed  in 
the  operation  and  not  on  the  prices  paid  to  the  labor. 

In  order,  however,  to  completely  cover  any  question  concerning  the 
difference  in  wage  scale,  there  is  presented  below  a  statement  of  the  wages- 
paid  by  four  of  the  large  milk  companies  of  the  City  of  Rochester  and 
by  the  large  milk  company  in  the  City  of  Ottawa,  Canada.  These  wage 
scales  are  shown  in  Table  No.  69. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


141 


TABLE  No.  69 

COMPARISON  OF  EMPLOYEES'  PAY  ROLL   AND  VOLUME 
OF  BUSINESS 


301 

101 

132 

47 

119 

Number  of  emploj^ees  on  milk 
Total  weekly  pay  roll  

113 
$2  944  00 

43 
$1,345  00 

53 
$1  474  00 

52 
$1  36500 

8 

$254  87 

Average  rate  per  week  

2605 

31  29 

2781 

2623 

3186 

Quarts  of  milk  per  day  

43,070 

9,000 

8,000 

9,075 

3,000 

From  Table  No.  69  it  will  be  noted  that  company  No.  301,  which  is 
located  in  the  City  of  Ottawa,  Canada,  has  an  average  rate  per  week  for 
labor  of  $26.05,  while  company  No.  47,  a  Rochester  milk  company,  has 
approximately  the  same  wage  scale. 

As  a  further  means  of  comparing  the  wages  paid  by  the  different 
milk  companies,  the  cost  per  man  hour  for  performing  each  one  of  the 
more  important  milk  operations  has  been  independently  determined  for 
all  of  the  milk  companies  in  the  list  presented  in  the  previous  series  of 
tabulations.  This  list  includes  three  Baltimore  milk  companies,  two 
Rochester  milk  companies,  one  Philadelphia,  one  Ottawa,  and  the  average 
for  the  City  of  Rochester. 

Those  particularly  interested  in  a  comparison  of  these  wage  scales 
can  note  the  cost  for  performing  the  labor  of  each  one  of  the  separate 
operations  for  each  one  of  the  companies  mentioned.  These  figures  are 
presented  in  Table  No.  70. 

TABLE  No.  70 
WAGE  SCALES  PER  MAN  HOUR 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7-R 
Av. 

8 

Miilk  receiving                    

.391 

.304 

.285 

.437 

.357 

.535 

.441 

.443 

Bottle  washing                      .  . 

.390 

.269 

.272 

.365 

.349 

.390 

.383 

.377 

Can  Washing 

.301 

.286 

.275 

.458 

.349 

.400 

.382 

.403 

Apparatus  \Vashing 

.273 

.204 

.260 

.385 

.349 

.408 

.427 

.308 

Pasteurizing  and  Cooling   

.407 

.371 

.294 

.385 

.365 

.427 

.500 

.362 

.409 

Bottling  and.  Capping           

.290 

.302 

.271 

.374 

.349 

.390 

.393 

.357 

Can  Filling                              .  . 

.303 

.279 

.246 

.349 

.427 

.398 

.426 

Driving  Retail 

.598 

.603 

.434 

.413 

.800 

.543 

.461 

.418 

Driving   Wholesale    

.425 

.444 

.413 

.619 

.450 

.452 

.418 

Driving  Railroad  to  Plant  

.330 

.342 

.291 

.3% 

.803 

.427 

.442 

.401 

Stable                          

.206 

.236 

.254 

.355 

.328 

.433 

.414 

.391 

.581 

.450 

.498 

.555 

Engine  Room                    

.481 

.481 

.337 

.600 

.397 

.750 

.448 

.479 

Refrigerating  Plant            

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

.455 

.479 

Plant  Protection                    

.190 

.214 

.257 

.400 

.261 

.208 

.412 

.477 

Office  Force                               .  .  • 

.422 

.443 

.372 

.534 

.508 

.318 

.390 

.379 

.476 

.246 

.420 

.439 

.  . 

.573 

.690 

.500 

.786 

.  . 

.794 

.676 

.577 

Miscellaneous     

.225 

.376 

.346 

.285 

.358 

.381 

Canvassers    

•• 

.532 

.506 

•• 

^Combined  with  engine  room  charge. 


142 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


The  advantages  of  a  centralized  system  as  compared  with  the  present 
system  of  doing  business,  so  far  as  the  labor  charges  are  concerned,  are 
shown  in  Table  No.  71. 

TABLE  NO.  71 

SUMMARY  OF  ESTIMATED  SAVINGS  IN  LABOR  UNDER  A 
CENTRALIZED  SYSTEM 
(Data  from  Previous  Tables.) 


OPERATION. 

COST  UNDER 
PRESENT  SYSTEM. 

ESTIMATED  COST 
UNDER 
CENTRALIZED 
SYSTEM. 

ESTIMATED 
SAVINGS. 

fcg 

tn   °° 

!i 

fi 

p 

1/5 

8 

j>» 

*n 

03 
<U 

&g 

«1 

o  +-> 
US 

•sS 

Yearly  cost. 

~d 

|| 

'>  o3 
a3  3 

<f>  cr 

-tJ      «H 

gt 

Yearly  savings. 

Milk  receiving 

.000647 
.001644 
.000615 
.000719 
.000513 
.000339 
.001454 
.000107 

.010493 

.000791 
.001436 

.000717 
.000054 

.001492 
.002016 
.000636 
000321 

$  18,315.70 
46,555.75 
17,406.85 
20,359.70 
14,541.60 
9,595.85 
41,182.95 
3,022.20 

297,117.30 

22,389.10 
40,661.00 

20,319.55 
1,522.45 

42,263.35 
57,069.29 
18,023.70 
9,081.20 
8,924.25 
42,573.60 

.000467 
.000626 
.000299 
.000226 
.000096 

.000604 
.000073 

.006572 

.000308 
.000918 

.000590 
.000054 
.000073 
.000825 
.001008 
.000368 
.000249 

.000706 

$  13,211.20 
17,730.76 
8,450.76 
6,395.90 
2,723.40 

17,111.55 
2,059.61 

186,078.53 

8,723.44 
26,003.00 

16,714.08 
1,522.45 
2,080.00 
23,366.75 
28,534.65 
10,428.05 
7,056.18 

20,000.00 

.000180 
.001018 
.000316 
.000493 
.000756 

.000850 
.000034 

.003921 

.000483 
.000518 

.000127 

*.000073 
.000667 
.001008 
.000268 
.000072 
.000315 
.000797 

$    5,104.50 
28,824.99 
8,956.09 
13,963.80 
21,414.05 

24,071.40 
962.59 

111,038.77 

13,665.66 
14,658.00 

3,605.47 

*2,080.00 
18,896.60 
28,534.64 
7,595.65 
2,025.02 
8,924.25 
22,573.60 

Bottle  washing 

Can  washing 

Apparatus  washing   
Pasteurizing  and  cooling. 
Cooling  

Bottling  and  capping   .  .  . 
Can   filling    

Driving,  retail  and  whole- 
sale routes 

Hauling  from  railroad  to 
plant 

Stable  and  garage  

Engine  room  and  refrig- 
eration plant    

Plant    protection    

Experimental   

Office  force          

Collectors                   ...    . 

Superintendence             .  . 

^Miscellaneous 

Canvassers 

.000315 
.001503 

Officers 

Totals     

.025812 

$730,925.39 

.014062 

$398,190.31 

.011750 

$332,735.08 

Net. 

*Increase  expense. 

In  Table  No.  71  have  been  assembled  together  all  of  the  operations 
performed  by  the  milk  dealers  of  the  City  of  Rochester  under  the  pres- 
ent system,  the  cost  per  quart  and  the  cost  per  year. 

Compared  with  this  in  the  same  table  is  shown  the  estimated  cost  of 
each  of  these  operations  per  quart  under  the  centralized  system  and  the 
yearly  cost. 

In  the  last  two  columns  are  stated  the  total  estimated  savings  result- 
ing from  the  establishment  of  the  centralized  system.  For  labor  alone  it 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  143 

is  to  be  noted  that  the  saving  would  amount  to  .00175  per  quart,  and  an 
annual  saving  of  $332,735.08  for  labor.  This  would  result  from  the  sub- 
stitution of  a  centralized  system  working  under  such  business  conditions 
as  already  exist  in  the  milk  industry. 

This  Survey  presents  this  figure  not  as  a  matter  of  guess  work;  but 
as  a  figure  which  has  been  arrived  at  from  close  study,  and  comparison 
with  the  conditions  actually  existing  in  the  milk  industry  to-day,  which 
can  be  imitated  by  the  milk  industry  of  the  City  of  Rochester. 

EXPENSES  EXCLUSIVE  OF  LABOR 

In  attempting  to  secure  a  statement  of  the  plant  or  factory  charges, 
it  was  found  impossible  to  secure  exact  figures  through  the  work  of  the 
inspectors  since  these  charges,  for  the  main  part,  consisted  of  supplies, 
articles  purchased,  such  fixed  charges  as  taxes,  interest,  insurance,  etc. 
Among  the  principal  articles  purchased  were  included  glass*  bottles,  milk 
cans,  horse  feed,  coal,  etc.  For  these  items  the  main  dependence  was 
placed  on  bookkeepers  or  cost  accountants. 

An  expert  firm  of  cost  accountants  was  employed  who  secured  figures 
from  four  of  the  large  milk  dealers  of  the  city  whose  books  were  kept 
in  a  manner  which  made  these  figures  sufficiently  reliable  to  justify 
a  report.  These  figures  have  been  assembled  together  and  averaged  in 
order  to  secure  a  statement  of  factory  .charges  which  would  fairly  repre^ 
sent  the  average  of  all  of  these  four  large  companies.  They  have  been 
divided  into  figures  for  the  retail  business  and  for  the  wholesale  business. 
These  averages  are  presented  in  Table  No.  72. 


144 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  NO.  72 
UNIT  PLANT  CHARGES  BASED  ON  COSTS  OF  BIG  DEALERS 


Retail 
unit. 


Wholesale 
unit. 


FACTORY. 

Factory  supplies   000756  .000215 

Light  and  power 001630  .000824 

Coal     000663  .000276 

Water .000109  .000045 

DELIVERY. 

Hay  and  grain 004012  .000828 

Blacksmithing  000929  .000194 

Repairs  to  rolling  stock 001065  .000222 

Barn  expense .000144  .000034 

Ice  000152  .000127 

Bottles  002720  .000739 

Cans 000187  .000947 

Caps  .• 000459  ..000100 

Cases  000446  .000118 

OFFICE. 

Advertising     000558 

Printing   000485  .000026 

Carfares 000166 

Postage .000149  .000161 

Telephone 000227  .000135 

FIXED  CHARGES. 

Taxes    000854  .000673 

Insurance 000661  .000419 

Interest     000735  .000242 

Allowances    001525  .000165 

Stationery    000419  .000254 

Depreciation  on — 

Buildings   000823  .000547 

Rolling  stock   001113  .000622 

Machinery   and  equipment    001252  .001219 

Furniture  and  fixtures 000082  .000041 

Repairs  to  buildings 001027  .000451 

Accounts  charged  off 000896  .000106 

Sundries     001424  .001020 

Rent    .000141 

Total   .                                                                    .025668  .012267 


Item  .012267  represents  the  unit  cost  of  plant  charges  for  wholesale 
bottled  milk.  Substracting  .000957  which  represents  bottle,  caps  and  case 
charges,  gives  the  figure  .011310  which  is  the  unit  plant  cost  for  wholesale 
can  milk. 

All  of  the  plants  of  the  small  dealers  were  visited  by  the  inspectors 
and  many  attempts  made  to  secure  a  statement  of  the  expenditures  by 
small  dealers  for  supplies  and  other  expenses  independent  of  labor  costs. 
It  was  found  impossible,  however,  to  secure  from  these  men  figures  of 
sufficient  accuracy  to  justify  an  independent  report.  Consequently,  the 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  145 

figures  for  factory  costs,  excepting  labor,  for  the  entire  city,  have  been 
based  on  the  figures  obtained  from  the  four  large  dealers  above  men- 
tioned. 

Using  these  figures  as  a  basis  for  estimate  and  applying  them  to  the 
milk  supply  furnished  to  the  city  for  the  three  classes  of  milk — retail 
bottled  milk,  wholesale  bottled  milk,  and  wholesale  canned  milk,  gives  the 
results  indicated  in  Table  No.  73. 

TABLE  NO.  73 

ONE  DAY'S  TOTAL  FACTORY  COSTS  EXCEPTING  LABOR,  FOR  ALL 
MILK  FIGURED  ON  BASIS  OF  BIG  DEALERS'  COSTS. 


Retail  —  Bottle 

Unit  Plant 
Cost  Per 
Quarts.        Quart  Sold. 
57305     X     025668    —    $1  470  90 

Wholesale—  Bottle    

11386     X      012267    =         13967 

Wholesale  —  Can    

8888     X     .011310    =        10052 

$1,711.09 

From  Table  No.  73  it  appears  that  the  daily  costs  of  supplies  and 
other  expenses  for  retail  bottled  milk  is  $1,470.90;  for  wholesale  bottled 
milk,  $139.67,  and  for  wholesale  canned  milk,  $100.52,  making  a  total 
daily  cost  for  the  city  of  $1,711.09. 

POSSIBLE  REDUCTIONS  IN  FACTORY  CHARGES 
(EXCEPT  LABOR) 

Just  how  much  the  factory  expenses  would  be  reduced  by  central- 
izing the  business  is  not  easy  to  estimate.  One  must  form  a  mental  pic- 
ture of  the  present  conditions  in  Rochester  by  taking  into  account  the 
fact  that  136  milk  dealers  are  engaged  in  buying  all  of  the  supplies  for 
their  business.  The  majority  of  these  purchase  supplies  at  retail  and, 
consequently,  at  prices  much  higher  than  the  prices  which  are  paid  by  the 
very  large  dealers  who  buy  at  wholesale. 

In  addition  to  this  it  must  be  remembered  that  where  there  are  136 
factories  there  is  an  enormous  duplication  so  that  the  number  of  articles 
required  is  much  greater ;  for  example,  where  milk  is  bottled  each  factory 
has  its  own  bottle  filling  machine.  As  stated  in  a  previous  part  of  the 
report,  there  are  25  pasteurizing  machines  operated  in  Rochester.  All 
of  the  equipment  necessary  for  the  washing  of  bottles  and  cans,  for  the 
care  of  horses,  is  duplicated  in  these  factories.  Consequently  in  purchas- 
ing supplies  these  purchases  are  constantly  duplicated. 

As  one  method  of  measuring  the  reduction  in  these  factories  three 
items  of  expense  have  been  selected.  The  first  of  these  is  heat,  light  and 
power.  It  is  obvious  that  there  would  be  great  economy  if  all  of  the  coal 


146 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


consumed  in  the  136  factories  were  centralized  in  one  or  two  large  fac- 
tories. The  reduction  in  steam  boilers  and  in  power  plants  would  be  so 
great  that  one  would  expect  a  great  reduction  in  coal  consumption. 

As  a  means  of  forming  an  estimate  on  this  branch  of  the  business,  the 
present  costs  of  light,  heat  and  power  for  all  of  the  companies  in  the  list 
we  have  been  using  is  presented  in  Table  No.  74. 

TABLE  NO.  74 
HEAT,  LIGHT  AND  POWER 


Number  of  Company. 

i_I 

rt 
^   8> 

•e  * 

rt   »- 

3   % 

a* 

o  u, 
O  rt 
0    <U 

.-,  >> 

£  «H 

p 

i  »  j_< 

<s>  03 
O   3 
0   gi 

I* 

1    . 

6,419,255 
5,539,240 
1,265,820 

2,678,005 
1,754,212 
28,316,335 
12,364,485 

nt  system  .  . 

$30,326 
18,829 
4,831 

4,523 
5,046 
52,244 
23,412 

.004724 
.003399 
.003816 

.001689 
.002876 
.001845 
.001893 

.001845 
.001500 

Yearly  Cost 
$52,244 
42,474 

2    

3    

4   

5   

6   

7-R   Av 

8 

Rochester  cost  under  prese 
Rochester  cost  under  cent 

Savings  under  centralized 

ralized  syste 
svstem  

m  

.000345 

$  9,770 

In  Table  No.  74  it  appears  that  Rochester  is  now  spending  $52,244 
yearly  for  light,  heat  and  power,  at  the  rate  of  .001845  per  quart.  One 
company  in  the  list  is  doing  this  same  thing  at  an  expense  of  .001689  per 
quart.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  as  a  result  of  centralization,  the  reduction 
would  be  considerably  greater  than  the  difference  shown  between  these 
two  figures. 

In  order,  however,  to  be  conservative,  we  have  assumed  that  under 
a  centralized  system,  by  abolishing  the  numerous  plants  now  existing  in 
Rochester,  and  burning  coal  only  in  one  or  more  centralized  plants,  this 
could  be  done  at  the  rate  of  .001500  per  quart.  This  would  amount  to 
$42,474  yearly,  and  result  in  a  saving  of  .000345  per  quart  and  $9,770.00 
per  year. 

HORSE  FEED  AND  BEDDING 

The  cost  of  horse  feed  and  bedding  was  obtained  from  six  of  the 
companies  in  the  list  and  for  the  entire  City  of  Rochester.  The  figures 
show  that  there  are  228  horses  working  on  the  milk  wagons  delivering 
milk  in  the  City  of  Rochester,  and  that  the  feed  costs  $59,711.00  per  year, 
which  is  at  the  rate  of  $261.89  per  horse. 

In  Table  No.  59,  on  the  subject  of  milk  wagons  and  milk  delivery, 
it  is  shown  that  Rochester  milk  could  be  delivered  with  a  total  of  139 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


147 


delivery  .wagons.  This  included  automobiles.  If  the  same  proportion  of 
automobiles  now  used,  which  is  7,  should  be  used  under  a  centralized  sys- 
tem, there  would  be  about  38  needed  under  such  system. 

This  would  mean  101  vehicles  drawn  by  horses  and  38  by  motor 
power. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  estimated  that  not  more  than  140 
horses  would  be  required  to  supply  horse  power  for  the  one-horse  and 
two-horse  vehicles  used  under  a  centralized  system. 

Assuming  that  the  cost  of  horse  feed  per  year  for  these  horses  would 
be  the  same  as  the  present  cost,  which  is  $261.89,  the  total  yearly  cost 
for  feeding  140  horses  would  be  $36,664.60.  This  would  result  in  an 
annual  saving  of  $23,046.40,  on  the  item  of  horse  feed.  These  figures 
are  presented  in  Table  No.  75. 


' 


TABLE  NO.  75 
HORSE  FEED  AND  BEDDING 


<u 

^ 

tn 

* 

<-M 

o 

Ctf  •••<    0) 

0   % 

Number  of  Company. 

«  8 

O^.  cu 

»-t   >> 

ljH       "> 

•T3    pi. 

-2*  ^ 

P 

t?5     S 

6rt 

t/5    " 

cS 

1 

82 

$24  180  72 

$294  89 

2 

63 

22  205  20 

36246 

3 

25 

9  954  52 

39818 

4   

5       

26 

7,622.09 

293.16 

6                      

29 

6,688.22 

230.62 

7_R   AV                      

228 

59,711.00 

261.89 

8   

125 

31.125.93 

249.00 

Yearly  Cost 

$59,711.00 

^Rochester  cost  under  centralized  system       

36,664.60 

.^avincrs  under  centralized  svstem   . 

$23,046.40 

*( Assuming  140  horses.) 


LOSS  ON  BOTTLES 

One  of  the  most  important  items  of  expense  and  one  which  has  re- 
ceived more  popular  attention  perhaps  than  any  other  item  in  the  milk 
business  is  the  loss  on  bottles.  It  is  commonly  believed  by  the  average 
citizen  that  the  loss  on  milk  bottles  ranges  somewhere  between  two  and 
five  cents  per  quart.  The  actual  cost  of  milk  bottles  at  the  present  time 
is  $8.00  per  gross  for  quarts  and  $6.75  per  gross  for  pints.  This  means  a 
cost  per  quart  of  .0555  per  quart  bottle,  or  a  little  more  than  Sy2  cents. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  many  bottles  are  broken  and  lost,  and 
unnecessarily  so,  and  that  a  considerable  saving  in  expense  would  result 


148 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


if  these  losses  were  reduced.  The  actual  condition  of  affairs  in  the  City 
of  Rochester  has  been  determined  by  summarizing  the  amount  of  money 
paid  yearly  for  new  glass  bottles  by  the  Rochester  companies  which  keep 
such  accounts  and  applying  this  same  item  of  expense  at  the  same  rate  to 
those  Rochester  companies  which  do  not  keep  accounts.  This  method  of 
estimate  it  is  believed  is  entirely  fair  for  the  reason  that  the  smaller  milk 
dealers  who  do  not  keep  accounts  undoubtedly  sustain  greater  losses  on 
milk  bottles  and  are  put  to  a  greater  expense  in  the  purchase  of  milk 
bottles  at  retail  than  are  the  larger  milk  dealers. 

The  total  number  of  milk  bottles  handled  by  the  City  of  Rochester 
each  day,  including  quarts,  pints  and  half  pints,  is  83,503,  and  annually 
this  amounts  to  30,478,595.  The  total  number  of  bottles  purchased  by  all 
of  the  dealers  in  Rochester  annually  is  1,332,432.  At  this  rate  each  glass 
bottle  in  Rochester  makes  22.8  trips  before  it  is  broken  or  lost.  The  ex- 
pense of  replacing  these  broken  and  lost  bottles  must 'be  paid  for  by  each 
quart  of  milk  sold,  and  amounts  to  .002720  per  quart  under  present  con- 
ditions. This  is  an  annual  expense  on  bottles  for  the  entire  city  of* 
$68,196. 

Similar  figures  have  been  obtained  from  all  of  the  other  companies  in 
the  list  and  are  presented  in  Table  No.  76. 

TABLE  NO.  76 
LOSS  ON  BOTTLES 


<f> 

_,_, 

-d 

-d 

<u    . 

'H'O 

§2  . 

<L>    </> 

o 
t/j 

1 

"o   <n 
U3    03 

i_ 

.         ^c^ 

3  $3 

Number  of  Company 

c/l 

C/2 

X  <L> 

p^ 

o3r^ 

^'g^ 

rfl 

*"  £ 
<S   0 

11 

t/2   4J 

.&   ° 

-M^ 

Ip 

Q'0 

>« 

H 

U     ° 

>H     « 

1 

15229 

5  558  585 

455  760 

122 

004196 

rt»o-3  OOC 

2    

13,540 

4  942,100 

442684 

11  1 

004584 

22  657 

3    

4,650 

1,697250 

106560 

159 

003213 

5454 

4    

72,000 

5    

7,690 

2806850 

100  454 

348 

002645 

5142 

6    

8,320 

3  036  800 

82252 

369 

002805 

4210 

7-R   Av    

83,503 

30  478  595 

1  332  432 

228 

002720 

68  1% 

8                     .    .. 

46034 

16802410 

391  219 

429 

002024 

20023 

Present  Rochester 

costs   . 

002720 

68196 

Rochester  costs  under  centralized  system  

.001377 

38997 

'  Savings  under  centralized  system    

.001343 

$29,199 

From  Table  No.  76  it  appears  that  the  number  of  trips  made  by  the 
glass  bottles  of  Rochester  before  they  are  broken  or  lost  is  greater  than 
the  number  of  trips  made  by  bottles  from  companies  Nos.  1,  2  and  3.  On 
the  other  hand,  company  No.  8  handles  its  business  in  a  manner  which 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 149 

results  in  its  bottles  making  nearly  43  trips  before  they  are  broken  or 
lost.  Figures  obtained  from  company  No.  8  for  the  month  of  August 
showed  that  during  that  month  the  glass  bottles  of  that  company  made 
51  trips  before  they  were  lost  or  broken. 

Under  a  centralized  system,  where  there  is  no  competition  and  where 
all  of  the  bottles  are  of  the  same  type  and  stamped  with  the  same  name, 
and  collected  and  delivered  by  the  same  wagons,  the  loss  on  bottles  would 
be  reduced  to  its  lowest  terms.  If  milk  consumers  co-operated  to  reduce 
these  losses,  the  life  of  the  milk  bottle  would  be  greatly  increased. 

Forty  trips  would  seem  to  be  a  fair  estimate  for  the  bottles  of  the 
City  of  Rochester  under  a  centralized  system.  This  would  mean  an  ex- 
pense per  quart  of  milk  sold  of  only  .001377,  and  an  annual  cost  for  glass 
bottles  of  $38,997.  The  savings  under  the  centralized  system  would  be 
therefore  .001343  per  quart,  and  $29,199  per  year. 

Taking  the  average  reduction  in  cost  on  savings  resulting  from  the 
centralized  system  on  the  items  of  heat,  light  and  power,  horse  feed  and 
bedding,  and  loss  on  bottles,  the  figures  show  a  percentage  reduction  of 
34.4  per  cent. 

For  purposes  of  comparison  the  same  items  of  factory  expense  were 
obtained  from  milk  companies  in  the  cities  of  Ottawa,  Canada,  and  Balti- 
more, Md. 

Company  No.  8,  located  in  Ottawa,  Can.,  finds  that  the  cost  of  factory 
supplies  is,  in  many  instances,  higher  even  than  the  figure  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  lower,  however,  on  horse  feed.  It  seems  fair  to  assume, 
therefore,  instead  of  a  reduction  of  50  per  cent.,  a  reduction  of  about  34 
per  cent.,  as  indicated  by  the  three  largest  factory  cost  items  above  men- 
tioned, should  be  made.  Applying  this  percentage  to  the  entire  factory 
costs  of  Rochester  under  the  present  system  would  result  in  a  cost  under 
a  centralized  system  of  $409,572,  which  is  at  the  rate  of  .014464  per  quart. 
This  would  result  in  the  saving,  under  the  centralized  system,  in  factory 
expenses,  of  $214,975.85,  which  is  at  the  rate  of  .007592  per  quart,  as 
shown  in  Table  No.  77. 


150 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


TABLE  No.  77 
TOTAL  FACTORY  EXPENSES  (EXCEPT  LABOR) 


1/5  o 

;_    • 

"0    ^ 

>> 

u  rt 

a 

Company 

A  s 

C 

OJ 

'"3  b^ 

««« 

Number 

Q  _o  <y 

O  -£ 

-4-J      ^ 

rt  O 

£3  rt  X 

•-a 

o 

H 

H 

^ 

1    . 

6419255 

$17967200 

$  49225 

027989 

2  . 

5  539  240 

17878500 

48982 

032276 

3  

1  265  820 

65  952  00 

18069 

052102 

4  

5  . 

2  678  005 

55  653  33 

15247 

020781 

6 

1  754212 

52976  13 

145  14 

030199 

7-R,  Av.  . 

2831633=; 

624  347  85 

1  711  09 

022056 

8  

2364485 

12965220 

35521 

010485 

Yearly  Costs 

Present  Rochester  costs 

022056 

$624  547  85 

Rochester  cost  under  Centralized  System  

.014464 

409,572.00 

Savings  under  Centralized  System  

.007592 

$214,975.85 

In  Table  No.  78  it  is  to  be  noted  that  under  the  present  system  the 
total  expenses  outside  of  labor  for  the  operation  of  the  milk  factories  of 
Rochester  amount  to  .022  per  quart,  or  $624,548.00  per  year,  while  under 
a  centralized  system  these  costs  would  be  only  .0144  per  quart,  or 
$409,572.00  yearly.  Centralization  reduces  these  expenses  so  that  there 
would  be  an  annual  saving  amounting  to  .007592  per  quart  and 
$214,976.00  yearly. 

TABLE  No.  78 

SUMMARY  OF  ESTIMATED  SAVINGS  IN  PLANT   CHARGES 
UNDER  A  CENTRALIZED  SYSTEM 


COST  ITEMS. 

UNDER  PRESENT 
SYSTEM 

ESTIMATED  UNDER 
CENTRALIZED 

SYSTEM      « 

ESTIMATED 

SAVINGS 

£3 

ft*o 
t*<« 

O  *J 

u§ 

'SO 

j>> 

i 

>^ 

_  ,     c/> 

g* 

£2 
a  o 
-MC/} 

V) 

$1 

•|o 

£ 

j>> 

s 

^    -M 

—  i     CO 

rf   0 

^ 

</>  .j 

bfltn 

.S  rt 

io 

^  u 

4-J     CJ 

•S^ 

^ 

T3    . 

C3    c« 

<u  bo 

>\£ 

H 

H 

Horse  feed  and  bedding.  . 
Bottles    f  

.002109 
.002408 
.001845 

.015694 

$59,711 
68,196 
52,244 

444,397 
$624,543 

.001295 
.001377 
.001500 

.010292 

$36,655 
38,997 
42,474 

291,436 

.000814 
.001031 
.000345 

.005402 

$23,046 
29,199 
9,770 

152,961 

Heat,  light  and  power  
All  other  expenses  (except 
labor)  

Totals  

.022056 

.014464 

$409,5721 

.007592 

$214,976 

MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


151 


FREIGHT 

The  milk  supply  of  the  City  of  Rochester  comes  into  the  city  through 
four  channels: 

24,985  by  motor  truck. 

3,018  by  wagon. 

48,163  by  railroad. 

5,909  by  trolley. 

The  milk  which  comes  by  truck,  wagon  and  railroad  is  paid  for  by 
cwt.  The  milk  which  comes  by  trolley  is  paid  for  by  the  quart.  The 
entire  cost  of  freight  per  day  and  per  year  is  shown  in  Table  No.  79. 

TABLE  No.  79 
COST  OF  TRANSPORTING  MILK  FOR  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


• 

Quarts 

Cwt. 

Rate 

Total 
Daily  Cost 

Motor  truck   

24985 

531  5 

30c  cwt 

$1  59  45 

Wagon  

3018 

642 

30c  cwt 

1926 

Railroad    

48  163 

1  025 

24c  cwt 

24600 

Trolley    

5909 

l/r  of 

29  55 

Cost  per  year  .    . 

82,075 

165  805 

$454.26 

Unit  cost  per  quart  

.005534 

Estimated  saving  in  freight  under  a  centralized  system  at  10%  is 
$16,580.50. 

In  Table  No.  79  it  appears  that  the  yearly  cost  of  freight  is  $165,805  ; 
the  cost  per  quart  is  an  average  of  a  little  over  $y2  cents. 

Under  the  present  system  there  is  no  way  whereby  the  cost  of  this 
freight  can  be  reduced.  Under  a  centralized  system,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  milk  would  be  shipped  from  the  country  to  the  city  to  one  distributor 
instead  of  to  136  distributors  as  under  the  present  system.  The  shipping 
of  the  milk  from  the  country  to  one  city  distributor  would  make  possible 
a  rearrangement  of  the  channels  of  shipment  in  several  respects,  that  is, 
the  milk  which  comes  by  motor  truck  would  be  centralized  so  that  each 
motor  truck  would  carry  as  nearly  as  possible  a  full  load,  and  the  total 
number  of  motor  trucks  would  be  reduced.  The  milk  which  comes  by 
wagon  in  the  same  way  would  be  centralized  so  as  to  provide  full  wagon 
loads.  The  milk  which  comes  by  railroad,  instead  of  being  subdivided 
into  separate  lots  for  the  different  shippers  and  different  distributors, 
would  all  belong  to  the  same  lot  and  therefore  could  be  packed  in  car- 
loads, some  of  which  might  constitute  entire  carload  shipments  and  secure 
the  freight  reduction  which  the  railroads  grant  to  full  cars.  The  milk 
which  is  shipped  by  trolley  in  the  same  manner,  instead  of  being  shipped 


152 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

in  separate  lots,  would  all  be  shipped  to  the  same  distributor  and  land  at 
the  same  receiving  station.  These  changes,  all  of  them,  would  result  in 
economies  in  the  labor  connected  with  the  loading  and  unloading  of  the 
milk,  and  would,  without  question,  reduce  the  work  of  the  railroads  and 
trolleys  and  the  work  of  the  trucks  and  wagons. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  accurately  just  what  this  reduction  would 
be.  The  experience  of  large  milk  companies  in  other  cities  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  freight  rates  would  indicate  a  possible  reduction  of  10  per  cent, 
in  the  cost  of  freight  in  large  lots  over  the  cost  of  handling  milk  in  small 
lots.  It  is  believed  that  the  reduction  would  be  greater  than  this  but,  for 
the  purposes  of  this  survey,  an  allowance  of  only  10  per  cent,  in  the  cost 
of  freight  will  be  made.  This  amounts  to  a  total  of  $16,580.50. 

LOSS  ON  SURPLUS 

One  of  the  items  which  is  commonly  overlooked  by  persons  not 
familiar  with  the  milk  industry  is  the  loss  on  surplus  milk.  Contracts 
between  milk  producers  as  a  rule  provide  that  the  distributor  shall  accept 
all  of  the  milk  which  the  producers  furnish.  There  is  no  constant  rela- 
tionship between  the  supply  and  the  demand.  At  certain  times  of  the 
year,  especially  in  the  spring  months  when  cows  are  put  out  on  pasture, 
there  is  as  a  rule  a  production  of  milk  far  in  excess  of  the  market  de- 
mands. In  some  years,  during  the  months  of  May  and  June,  this  surplus 
exceeds  the  market  demands  by  as  much  as  80  per  cent.  As  a  rule,  during 
the  months  of  July  and  August,  when  the  hot  weather  dries  up  the  grass 
and  flies  are  numerous,  there  is  a  shrinkage  in  the  production  of  milk  by 
dairy  cows,  which  results  in  an  actual  deficiency,  so  that  the  quantity  of 
milk  produced  by  the  regular  milk  producers  supplying  the  milk  dealers 
of  Rochester  and  other  cities  is  less  than  the  market  demands.  This 
deficiency  is  made  up,  if  possible  by  bringing  into  the  city  market  milk 
from  outside  source  of  supply,  such  as  butter  factories,  cheese  factories, 
condensed  milk  factories,  etc. 

The  successful  milk  dealer  is  compelled  to  arrange  his  business  so 
that  such  deficiencies,  if  possible,  will  not  occur.  This  means  that,  for 
most  of  the  months  of  the  year,  the  dealer  is  compelled  to  carry  a  surplus 
of  milk  in  excess  of  market  demands  which  ranges  annually  from  5  to 
20  per  cent,  of  his  total  business.  This  surplus  milk  cannot  be  marketed 
at  the  flat  price  of  fluid  milk,  but  must  be  made  up  into  milk  products 
such  as  condensed  milk,  butter,  cheese,  powdered  milk,  buttermilk,  cream, 
etc.  The  market  price  for  these  milk  products  as  a  rule  brings  in  to  the 
dealer  less  money  than  he  would  receive  if  the  surplus  milk  could  be  sold 
at  full  fluid  milk  prices.  Consequently,  in  every  milk  company  there  is 
an  annual  loss  of  money  due  to  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  surplus  milk. 
In  most  large  cities  this  loss  is  estimated  at  about  y2  cent  per  quart. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


153 


The  figures  obtained  from  the  City  of  Rochester  from  the  four  large 
milk  companies  whose  accounts  show  losses  on  surplus  have  been  applied 
to  the  entire  milk  supply  of  the  city.  It  is  believed  that  such  an  estimate 
of  the  annual  Rochester  loss  on  surplus  is  a  fair  one  since  the  smaller 
milk  dealers  as  a  rule  sustain  greater  losses  on  surplus  milk  than  do  the 
large  milk  dealers,  for  the  reason  that  the  small  dealer  is  not  equipped 
with  facilities  for  manufacturing  his  surplus  milk  to  advantage.  Conse- 
quently, any  estimate  based  on  the  loss  on  surplus  of  the  large  dealers  is 
more  conservative  than  it  is  believed  the  actual  losses  of  the  small  dealers 
really  are. 

On  this  basis  figures  for  Rochester,  together  with  the  figures  taken 
from  the  other  milk  companies  in  the  list,  are  presented  in  Table  No.  80. 

TABLE  No.  80 
LOSS  ON  SURPLUS 


c 
o 

_V*T3' 

c« 

Number  of 

rs  « 

c/) 

O 

Company. 

^•53 

I-J 

0."^ 

>>^ 

^^ 

>> 

e/>  3 

*£  ^ 

Srt 

*a 

go 

s^ 

Q 

Q 

J 

> 

1 

20417 

$  79  18 

004433 

$  28899 

2   . 

16056 

10983 

007237 

40091 

3    

4346 

2976 

008581 

10862 

4   

65800 

29500 

00500 

107  675 

5   

6   

8000 

1947 

004051 

7106 

7-R,  Av    . 

82075 

32870 

004237 

119976 

8   

43070 

11798 

00310 

43064 

Present  Rochester  costs  

004237 

$119976 

Rochester  costs  under  centralized  system 

003500 

99118 

Savings  under  centralized  system  

.000737 

$20,858 

From  Table  No.  80  it  appears  that  the  loss  per  quart  on  the  entire 
milk  supply  of  Rochester  is  .004237,  and  the  annual  loss  $119,976.  Some 
of  the  milk  companies  in  the  list  sustain  greater  losses  than  others.  Com- 
pany No.  4  is  rated  at  .005  per  quart  on  a  basis  of  estimates  made  by 
the  Food  Administrator  of  Philadelphia,  whose  allowance  for  all  milk 
dealers  in  that  city  for  losses  on  surplus  is  ^  cent  per  quart. 

Company  No.  8  is  possessed  of  unusual  facilities  for  the  manufacture 
and  marketing  of  surplus  milk,  not  only  because  its  business  is  centralized, 
but  because  it  is  connected  with  a  large  ice  cream  business.  It  is  believed 
that  under  a  centralized  system  in  Rochester  similar  advantages  could  be 
obtained  and  therefore  that  it  would  be  justifiable  to  assume  that  the  loss 
on  surplus  in  Rocheser  could  be  greatly  reduced.  With  such  a  plan  in 


154 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


mind,  the  figure  .003500  is  suggested  as  a  fair  basis  for  the  loss  on  sur- 
plus for  Rochester  under  a  centralized  system.  This  would  mean  an  an- 
nual loss  of  $99,118  under  a  centralized  system,  a  saving  of  .000737  per 
quart,  and  an  annual  saving  of  $20,858. 

Having  now  shown  in  detail  the  possible  savings  in  labor,  factory 
expenses,  loss  on  surplus,  and  freight,  these  items  can  be  assembled  to- 
gether to  show  the  total  possible  savings  under  a  centralized  system.  This 
summary  appears  in  Table. No.  81. 

TABLE  No.  81 

FINAL    SUMMARY    OF    ESTIMATED    SAVINGS    UNDER 
CENTRALIZED  SYSTEM 


UNDER  PRESENT 
SYSTEM 

ESTIMATED  UNDER 
CENTRALIZED 
SYSTEM 

ESTIMATED 
SAVINGS 

u.     • 

4_)     3 
'SO 

JL 

?J 

i 

1/5 
'SO 

^ 

03 
<U 

,—  !       </> 

05   O 

H 

u 
V 
a 

|I 

j& 

05   c« 

<U    bfl 

^'> 

Freight  or  trucking  
Labor  (Table  No.  71)  .  . 
Factory,  other  than  labor 
(Table  No.  77)  .... 
Loss  on  Surplus  .    .    . 

.0058551 
.025812 

.022056 
.004237 

$165,805 
730,925 

624,548 
119,976 

$1,641,254 

.005270 
.014062 

.014464 
.003500 

$149,225 
398,190 

409,572 
99,118. 

.000585 
.011750 

.007592 
.000737 

$16,580 
332,735 

214,976 
20,858 

Totals  

.057960 

.037296 

$1,056,105! 

.020664 

$585,149 

From  Table  No.  81  it  appears  that  the  total  cost  of  selling  milk  in 
the  City  of  Rochester  under  the  present  system  is  .0579  per  quart,  amount- 
ing to  a  yearly  cost  of  $1,641,254,  while  under  the  centralized  system  the 
cost  would  be  .0372  per  quart,  or  $1,056,105  per  year.  Under  the  cen- 
tralized system  the  savings  therefore  would  be  .02  per  quart,  and  $585,149 
per  year. 

MILK  SALES 

The  sale  of  milk  by  the  City  of*  Rochester  at  the  prices  charged  by 
each  class  of  dealers  has  been  assembled  in  the  form  of  a  tabulation  with 
the  object  of  showing  the  prices  charged  by  dealers  handling  under  500 
quarts,  dealers  handling  from  501  to  1,000  quarts,  and  from  1,000  quarts 
and  upwards. 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  the  small  dealers  charge  less  money 
for  milk  than  the  large  dealers.  The  daily  sales  of  milk  for  each  of  these 
groups  of  dealers  and  for  each  class  of  milk,  including  retail  bottled  milk, 
wholesale  bottled  milk,  and  wholesale  canned  milk,  have  been  put  together 
and  presented  in  Table  No.  82. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 


155 


S3 


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.— c  r>» 

rf^-i 


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156 MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 

In  Table  No.  82  it  appears  that  the  small  dealer  selling  under  501 
quarts  charged  an  average  price  for  retail  bottled  milk  at  the  time  these 
figures  were  obtained  (in  the  month  of  August)  of  .13348,  while  dealers 
selling  from  501  to  1,000  quarts  charged  a  trifle  less.  Dealers  selling 
from  1,000  quarts  upwards  charged  the  most. 

For  wholesale  milk  in  bottles  the  small  dealers  charged  slightly  less 
than  the  other  dealers,  while  for  wholesale  canned  milk  they  charged  as 
much  as  one  cent  less  than  the  dealers  in  the  next  class,  and  almost  two 
cents  less  than  the  large  dealers.  In  examining  these  figures,  however, 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  large  dealers  are  pasteurizing  milk  and 
that  this  adds  to  their  cost.  It  is  also  true  that  the  large  dealers  make 
greater  expenditures  for  the  washing  and  sterilization,  refrigeration  and 
other  items  of  expense  connected  with  the  care  of  milk  than  is  done  by 
the  small  dealers. 

In  the  last  part  of  this  tabulation  will  be  noted  the  total  selling  prices 
for  the  entire  City  of  Rochester  average  and  the  total  value  of  the  milk 
sold  each  day,  which  amounts  to  $10,001.45.  This  means  that  the  milk 
sold  by  the  City  of  Rochester  at  these  prices  would  bring  in  an  income 
annually  of  $3,650,529.25. 


XI 


SUMMARY   OF   MONEY   INVESTED   IN  THE   BUSINESS   OF 
MILK  DISTRIBUTION  BY  ROCHESTER  MILK  DEALERS 

In  order  to  arrive  at  a  fair  statement  of. the  money  invested  in  the 
milk  business  of  Rochester,  the  dealers  have  been  divided  into  groups, 
according  to  the  size  of  their  business.  The  dealers  operating  pasteurizing 
machines  have  been  grouped  separately  for  the  reason  that  their  in- 
vestment includes  a  much  larger  item  for  machinery,  because  the  pas- 
teurizers, which  form  the  most  important  partof  their  equipment,  are  not 
included  in  the  equipment  of  the  other  dealers. 

Every  one  of  the  25  dealers  operating  pasteurizers  was  visited  by  the 
Inspectors  of  the  Survey,  and  through  conference  with  them,  an  estimate 
was  made  of  the  value  of  their  land,  buildings,  machinery  and  delivery 
equipment.  In  addition  to  this,  nine  of  the  smaller  dealers,  handling 
raw  milk,  were  visited,  and  similar  estimates  formed  of  the  value  of  the 
land,  buildings,  machinery  and  delivery  equipment  owned  by  them.  The 
figures  obtained  from  the  dealers  visited  in  this  way  were  used  as  a  basis 
for  estimating  the  value  of  the  land,  buildings,  machinery  and  equipment 
owned  by  the  remainder  of  the  small  milk  dealers. 

Values  were  pro-rated  in  accordance  with  the  number  of  quarts 
handled  by  each  dealer.  The  figures  obtained  in  this  way  are  presented 

in  Table  No.  83. 

TABLE  NO.  83 

SUMMARY  OF  INVESTMENT  OF  ROCHESTER -MILK  DEALERS 


PASTEUR- 
IZERS. 

WITHOUT  PASTEURIZERS. 

Grand  Total. 

Investment 
reported. 

INVESTMENT  NOT 
REPORTED. 

c/> 
"E  tn 

$$ 

^ 
O  O 

c/i 

u 

ri 

53 
C7 

6^ 

*rt 

£ 

Number  of  Dairies           

25 
47,373 

$  69,568 
237,646 
196,336 
104,535 

$608,085 

9 

3,338 

$    4,250 
8,100 
4,390 
7,500 

$24,240 

21,071 

$  31,164 
40,815 
30,490 
34,009 

$136,478 

19 
10,243 

$  10,376 
25,710 
11,278 
25,485 

$72,849 

ill 
34,702 

$  45,790 
74,625 
46,158 
66,994 

$233,567 

136 
82,075 

$115,358 
312,271 
242,494 
171,529 

$841,652 

Milk  received  (quarts)           .... 

Land                      

Machinery                       

Totals    

In  Table  No.  83  the  column  of  figures  for  the  25  dealers  operating 
pasteurizers  are  actual  statements  of  costs,  made  by  the  dealers 
selves,  with  one  exception. 


158 


MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


The  figures  in  the  second  column  for  the  nine  raw  milk  dealers  re- 
porting investments,  are  also  actual  statements  made  by  the  dealers  them- 
selves. 

The  figures  in  the  remaining  columns,  viz.,  Dealers  handling  400 
quarts  or  less,  19  dealers  handling  over  400  quarts,  are  estimates  based  on 
the  previous  figures,  as  above  stated. 

The  grand  total  shows  an  investment  in  land  of $115,358 

"  buildings    312,271 

"  machinery    242,494 

and  in  delivery  equipment  are  included  horses  and  wagons  .  . .  171,529 

or  a  total  investment  of  deliveries  for  the  entire  city $841,652 

The  total  quantity  of  milk  received  by  these  dealers  at  the  time  the 
figures  were  obtained  was  82,075  quarts  daily.  Similar  figures  obtained 
in  other  cities  have  in  a  number  of  instances  shown  that  the  amount  of 
money  invested  by  the  milk  dealer  is  approximately  $10.00  per  quart  of 
milk  handled.  The  investment  of  Rochester  milk  dealers  therefore  is 
not  far  from  the  money  invested  in  the  milk  business  in  some  of  the  other 
cities  where  such  figures  have  been  obtained. 

The  milk  dealers  grouped  according  to  the  quantity  of  milk  received 
by  them,  are  shown  in  Table  No.  84. 

TABLE  NO.  84 

ROCHESTER  MILK  DEALERS— GROUPED  ACCORDING  TO  MILK 

RECEIVED 


t/3 

•si 

<U 

~T3 

+j'C 

SIZE  OF  BUSINESS. 

cu'rt 

£  •£ 

S  a; 

•&  »rt 

•—  '  *<u 

0    «- 

~<-M 

^5  o 

u,^ 

fc  ° 

t2  ^ 

flH    g 

400  or  less                         

93 

23820 

29.0% 

401-   500                                    

Q 

4,186 

5.1% 

501-   700    

1? 

6,659 

8.1% 

701-1  000                                       

11 

9127 

11.1% 

1  001-2000    

6 

8,205 

10.0% 

Over  2,000    

5 

30,078 

36.7% 

PROFIT  AND  LOSS 

Having  now  presented  the  costs  of  labor  performed  and  the  plant 
costs,  the  cost  of  freight  and  the  loss  on  surplus,  and  also  the  prices  re- 
ceived for  milk,  it  is  proper  to  take  up  for  consideration  the  question  of 
profit  and  loss.  The  total  amount  of  money  received  for  milk  when  com- 
pared with  the  total  expenses  should  enable  us  to  determine  whether  the 
milk  distributors  of  the  City  of  Rochester  are  making  money  or  losing 
money  at  present  prices.  In  order  to  arrive  at  an  estimate  of  this,  the 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


159 


cost  of  milk  purchased  from  the  farmer  has  been  added  to  the  other 
costs  in  the  list. 

The  price  paid  to  the  producer  for  milk  during  the  month  of  August 
when  these  figures  were  obtained  was  .072551.  Adding  this  price  to  the 
other  items  of  expense  for  each  class  of  milk  sold  in  Rochester,  including 
retail  bottled  milk,  wholesale  bottled  milk  and  wholesale  canned  milk, 
the  entire  cost  of  handling  Rochester  milk  is  obtained.  The  selling  price 
and  the  profit  and  loss  are  shown  in  Table  No.  85. 

TABLE  NO.  85 

TOTAL  COST  PER  QUART  (THREE  CLASSES)  OF  ROCHESTER  MILK. 

AUGUST,  1919 


EXPENSE  ITEMS. 

*d 
—  ~ 
re  ii 

I-8 

Wholesale 
bottled. 

<u 

'c3 

c/l 

<u  c 

is 

Cost  of  fluid  milk 

072551 

072SS1 

f)7occi 

Freight     

005534 

005534 

005534 

Loss  on  surplus  

004237 

004237 

004237 

Labor  charges  

028149 

021572 

018711 

Factory  expense   

025668 

012267 

011310 

Total     

136139 

116161 

112343 

Selling  price  . 

135380 

112890 

107770 

Loss    

.000759 

.003271 

.004573 

From  Table  No.  85  it  appears  that  during  the  month  of  August  there 
was  an  actual  loss  on  all  three  classes  of  milk  sold  by  all  dealers  in  the 
City  of  Rochester.  While  these  losses  were  slight,  yet  they  constitute 
convincing  evidence  that,  under  present  conditions,  the  conduct  of  the 
business  in  Rochester  at  the  prices  stated  was  not  profitable. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  month  of  August  is  what  is  known 
as  a  short  month ;  that  is  to  say,  due  to  the  vacation  period,  the  quantity 
of  milk  sold  in  Rochester  is  less  than  the  normal  quantity  demanded  by 
the  city.  It  has  been  stated  that  the  volume  of  milk  required  by  the  city 
averages  at  least  10  per  cent,  more  than  the  volume  of  milk  sold  in 
August.  If  this  is  so,  such  an  increase  in  volume  would  wipe  out  the  losses 
noted  in  the  above  table  and  would  enable  the  milk  dealers  to  make  a 
moderate  profit  during  some  months  of  the  year.  This  could  only  be 
accomplished,  however,  through  an  increase  in  the  retail  price  and  pro- 
vided the  price  paid  to  the  producer  did  not  correspondingly  increase. 

The  report  of  the  expert  cost  accountants  who  examined  the  cost 
accounts  of  four  of  the  large  dealers  in  Rochester  for  the  business  trans- 
acted during  the  year  ending  December  31,  1918,'  shows  that  one  dis- 
tributor made  an  annual  profit  of  $3,824.43;  another  an  annual  loss  of 
$19,374.93;  another  a  profit  of  $3,147.92;  and  another  a  loss  of  $2,156.30. 


160  MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

These  profits  and  losses  are  based  exclusively  on  the  business  of  buying 
and  selling  fluid  milk,  and  do  not  include  the  business  of  buying  and 
selling  cream.  It  is  believed  that  in  some  of  the  companies  mentioned 
the  business  of  buying  and  selling  cream  brings  in  larger  profits  than  the 
fluid  milk  business.  The  profits  and  losses  above  mentioned  are  additional 
evidence  that  at  present  prices  under  the  existing  competitive  system  the 
fluid  milk  business  does  not  produce  large  profits. 

CONTROL  OF  MILK  SUPPLY  BY  ROCHESTER  HEALTH 

DEPARTMENT 

The  City  of  Rochester  has  no  milk  regulations  of  its  own.  In  the 
fall  of  the  year  1914,  the  New  York  State  Public  Health  Council  at 
Albany  published  a  Sanitary  Code  containing  a  chapter  on  Milk  and 
Cream. 

Regarding  enforcement  of  these  regulations,  the  Code  states  in  regu- 
lation 15,  as  follows: 

"Regulation  15.  When  to  take  effect.  Every  regulation  in  this  chapter,  unless 
otherwise  specifically  stated,  shall  take  effect  throughout  the  State  of  New  York, 
except  the  City  of  New  York,  on  the  16th  day  of  November,  1914." 

This  means  that  these  regulations  shall  apply  to  every  city  and  town 
and  village  in  the  State  of  New  York. 

Review  of  the  character  of  the  regulations  contained  in  the  report 
makes  it  very  clear  that  every  grade  of  milk,  both  raw  and  pasteurized, 
existing  in  the  State  of  New  York,  in  towns  and  villages  as  well  as  in 
cities,  is  recognized  and  perpetuated  by  this  report.  In  short,  the  State 
authorities,  in  issuing  these  regulations,  did  so  with  the  full  knowledge 
that  the  same  must  be  adapted  to  and  available  for  country  villages  as 
well  as  for  cities. 

A  special  provision  is  made  in  the  regulations  on  behalf  of  first- 
class  cities  and  other  municipalities  which  may  desire  to  safeguard  their 
milk  supplies  by  more  modern  methods  than  those  provided  for  in  the 
regulations,  which  is  in  these  words : 

"Regulation  14.  Supplementary  regulations  of  local  authorities.  The  health 
authorities  of  any  municipality  may,  in  their  discretion,  increase  the  stringency  of 
these  regulations,  or  add  to  them  in  any  way  not  inconsistent  with  the  provisions 
thereof." 

This  means  that  Rochester,  or  any  other  city,  may  adopt  milk  regu- 
lations of  their  own,  provided  these  are  not  inconsistent  with  the  mini- 
mum requirements  of  the  State  regulations. 

From  the  reports  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Health  of  the  City 
of  Rochester  during  the  past  ten  years,  a  tabulation  has  been  drawn  up 
showing  the  work  performed.  Reports  are  incomplete  and  therefore  the 
tabulation  is  lacking 'in  several  important  points.  There  is  no  complete 
report  published  later  than  the  year  1917. 

The  figures  reported  are  shown  in  Table  No.  86. 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


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162  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

In  Table  No.  86  the  'statement  is  made  that  in  the  year  1917  the 
Department  was  equipped  with  seven  milk  inspectors.  In  the  personnel 
of  the  Health  Bureau  in  the  report  for  1917  are  given  the  names  of  the 
chief  milk  inspectors,  one  meat  and  assistant  milk  inspector,  and  five 
assistant  sanitary  milk  inspectors.  These  are  in  addition  to  the  names 
of  the  biologist  and  chemist.  Whether  this  means  all  (^ccupied  the  same 
positions  at  the  same  time  or  replaced  each  other  doeS:!not  appear  in  the 
report. 

Dr.  George  W.  Goler,  Health  Officer,  in  his  testimony  at  a  public 
hearing  held  in  the  City  Hall,  on  July  16th,  made  the  following  statement 
regarding  the  control  of  the  milk  supply  by  the  Rochester  Health  De- 
partment : 

"In  the  early  days,  in  the  shipped  milk  as  well  as  in  the  made  milk, 
we  were,  of  coiurse,  drinking  vast  quantities  of  manure  in  our  milk. 

"As  far  as  we  could,  we  inspected  the  dairies  of  the  men  who  were 
making  the  milk.  We  went  into  the  country  and  inspected  their  dairies. 
We  could  not  do  very  much  because  we  never  had  more  than  two  and  a 
half  men  to  protect  our  milk  supply. 

"A  few  years  later  we  had  difficulty  because,  very  unfortunately,  a 
man  was  called  to  the  police  court  bench,  who  was  a  law  unto  himself, 
who  dismissed  :milk  cases  just  as  rapidly  as  we  brought  them  before  him, 
and  who  seemed  to  think  he  was  the  defender  of  all  the  bad  milk  men  in 
town.  He  was  re-elected  for  eight  years  and  we  were  practically  unable 
to  get  a  conviction,  no  matter  what  the  man's  offense  might  be  against 
the  milk  ordinances  of  the  City  of  Rochester. 

"There  was  a  notorious  individual  who  was  a  typhoid  carrier  and 
who  had  it  in  hjis  family,  who  was  responsible  for  twelve  cases  of  typhoid, 
three  or  four  of  which  died.  We  were  unable,  through  the  police  at  that 
time,  to  either  keep  that  man  from  peddling  milk  in  Rochester  or  to  get 
him  arrested  for  selling  milk  in  Rochester,  and  as  the  result  of  that  we 
had  thirteen  cases  and  three  or  four  deaths. 

"We  had  still  another  example  of  just  that  sort  of  thing.  A  woman 
who  had  typhoid  was  selling  milk  in  an  establishment  where  she  had 
someone  sick  with  typhoid  and  we  could  not  prevent  at  that  time  that 
person  from  coming  into  Rochester  with  milk.  That  would  not  be  so  now 
or  that  would  not  have  been  so  a  few  years  past.  It  was  so  then. 

"Then  there  was  a  period  along  about  1905  when  we  attempted  to 
show  that  there  was  a  very  considerable  number  of  cattle  furnishing  milk 
to  Rochester  which  were  infected  by  tuberculosis.  That  is,  I  do  not  mean 
by  that  that  we  were  interested  in  the  cattle  infected  by  tuberculosis  in  a 
mild  degree.  That  was  not  our  interest.  We  were  interested  in  some 
of  the  cattle  that  were  infected  with  tuberculosis  which  we  know  as  open 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  163 

infections;  that  is,  infection  of  the  intestinal  tract  or  respiratory  tract, 
so  that  organisms  from  the  cow,  either  from  the  intestinal  end — which  is 
the.  more  frequent  line  of  communication  between  the  milk  and  home — 
or  the  respiratory  end,  might  get  into  the  milk ;  so  we  instituted  our  new 
guinea  pig  test.  We  had  numbers  of  animals  and  we  took  milk  from  the. 
different  herds  in  the  country  and  injected  these  animals.  When  we  found 
any  of  the  animals  afflicted  with  tuberculosis,  we  had  a  physical  examina- 
tion made  of  the  herd.  That  physical  examination  together  with  the  ani- 
mal test,  was  a  sufficient  test  to  determine  a  very  considerable  number  of 
herds  of  cattle  that  were  profoundly  tuberculous.  Twenty  per  cent,  of 
all  the  cattle  we  tested  were  found  to  be  tuberculous.  We  were  getting 
on  swimmingly.  Volunteers  were  coming  forward  to  have  their  cows 
tested.  Then  we  came  to  a  standstill  because  of,  the  large  milk  companies 
and  the  objection  the  large  milk  companies  made  was,  in  substance,  that 
we  were  interfering  with  their  business  and  it  did  not  pay  to  do  this 
work.  They  had  no  interest  in  children.  They  were  simply  interested  in 
business.  We  had  to  stop.  I  think  we  had  several  hundred  cattle  killed 
that  were  profoundly  tuberculous.  We  had  certificates  coming  in  to  us 
from  veterinary  surgeons  certifying  to  the  fact  that  a  herd  of  forty  or 
fifty  or  seventy  or  eighty  cows  is  absolutely  free  from  tuberculosis,  and 
we  tested  out  the  herd  and  found  twenty  of  them  were  profoundly  tuber- 
culous. Wre  very  clearly  understand  that  you  cannot  have  absolutely 
clean  milk.  You  do  not  get  absolutely  clean  milk  when  you  get  certified 
milk.  You  do  not  get  absolutely  disease  free  meat  unless  you  want  to  pay 
five  dollars  a  pound  for  it,  and  you  cannot  afford  to  pay  that.  You  want 
relatively  clean  milk  and  you  want  relatively  disease  free  meat. 

"In  reference  to  this  work,  there  is  still  another  factor  I  want  to 
speak  of.  That  is  the  attitude  of  the  milk  commission.  The  milk  com- 
mission, as  I  have  said  before,  has  inter f erred  with  our  work  more  than 
all  the  milk  men." 

Q.     What  milk  commission? 

A.  I  mean  the  Monroe  County  Milk  Commission,  the  certified  milk 
commission.  When  we  organized  the  Milk  Commission,  we  assumed 
that  a  large  part  of  the  work  of  the  Milk  Commission  was  going  to  be 
such  as  would  raise  the  character  of  all  the  milk  in  Rochester  instead  of 
trying  to  improve  a  few  two  or  three  hundred  quarts  of  milk  from  what 
it  was  in  the  earlier  days  for  the  benefit  of  people  who  can  afford  to  pay 
for  it.  What  did  they  do  ?  They  improved  the  quality  of  a  few  hundred 
quarts  of  milk  and  then  turned  the  work  over  to  the  large  companies,  and 
through  the  large  companies  they  gave  to  the  people  of  Rochester  the 
idea  that  being  the  product  of  the  large  companies,  it  was  equivalent  to 
certified  milk,  and  it  wasn't.  .! 


164 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

Q.  In  regard  to  the  matter  of  tubercular  inspections ;  I  understood 
you  to  say  that  you  were  stopped  by  the  milk  dealers  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Tell  us  how  they  stopped  it  ? 

A.  I  would  rather  tell  you  from  the  record  and  submit  the  letters 
to  you. 

Q.     You  have  the  letters,  a  complete  record  of  that  blocking? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     That  is  available  so  you  can  bring  it  in  on  short  notice  ? 

A.     I  don't  know  how  short.    I  can  bring  it  in  to  you  to-morrow. 

Q.  We  had  before  us  the  matter  of  the  big  dealers  compelling  you 
to  discontinue  the  tubercular  test.  I  understood  you  to  testify  that  you 
could  show  how  they  did  it  by  your  records.  Are  you  ready  to  proceed 
with  that  ?  Give  us  the  history  of  it. 

A.  I  could  not  do  that  because  I  don't  know  it.  In  giving  you  what 
I  have,  I  am  dealing  with  one  company;  there  were  two  companies,  but 
one  company  was  just  as  bad  as  the  other. 

Q.  Well,  you  discontinued  the  tubercular  test  because  you  were 
compelled  to? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     You  know  what  compelled  you  to? 

A.     I  am  ready  to  tell  you. 

Q.     That  is  what  we  want  to  know. 

A.  There  is  no  question  about  the  power  of  the  Health  Officer. 
That  has  been  passed  upon  by  more  than  one  corporation  counsel.  In 
the  latter  part  of  the  year  19(39,  down  to  the  fore  part  of  1910,  we  began 
to  test  out  all  the  herds;  tried  to  test  all  the  herds  supplying  Rochester 
with  milk  by  what  was  known  as  the  physiological  test,  using  guinea  pigs. 
We  had  then — 1909 — we  had  up  to  the  time  we  discontinued  our  tests, 
tested  the  supply  of  41  retailers  and  offered  by  28  producers.  Seven 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  cattle  were  tested,  and  671  actually  were  tested 
through  the  efforts  of  the  Chief  Milk  Inspector.  Two  hundred  because 
the  owners  .asked  for  the  test.  And  out  of  the  total  number  tested,  210 
cattle  were  killed.  Thus,  out  of  approximately  8,000  cattle  supplying 
Rochester  with  milk,  more  than  20  per  cent,  of  them  were  tested  as  the 
result  of  this  work,  and  as  a  result  of  the  test,  approximately  12  per  cent, 
re-acted  and  were  killed.  At  that  time  Mr.  Owen  was  Commissioner  of 
Public  Safety  and  under  date  of  April  9,  1910,  I  made  a  report  to  him. 
I  said  in  that  letter : 

"We  have  prosecuted  our  preliminary  work  against  tuberculosis  in  milch  cattle 
for  a  little  more  than  a  year.  Of  the  8,000  cows  from  700  farms  we  have  had 
tested  more  than  1,000  cows,  and  had  124  killed.  In  one  herd  where  the  evidence 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  165 

was  obtained  through  the  guinea  pig  test,  52  re-acted  out  of  100,  and  26  of  them 
were  so  badly  affected  by  tuberculosis  that  they  had  to  be  tanked  for  phosphate. 

"One  of  the  excellent  outcomes  of  this  work  has  been  the  voluntary  requests 
for  the  testing  of  herds  by  men  whom  the  milk  inspector  has  visited.  The  applica- 
tions for  tests  have  not  all  been  voluntary,  but  have  been  due  largely  to  the 
presentation  of  facts  to  the  owners  by  the  milk  inspector.  In  one  of  the  herds 
recently  picked  up  by  Mr.  Marshall,  the  whole  herd  of  21  cows  re-acted. 

"The  above  are  some  of  the  facts  that  I  will  present  to  the  people  of  the  City 
of  Lawrence,  Mass.,  on  Monday  evening  next." 

The  herd  referred  to  having  21  cows  which  re-acted  to  the  test  I 
referred  to  this  morning.  That  herd  we  had  a  certificate  from  a  veter- 
inarian stating  that  the  cattle  were  all  in  good  condition.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  same  year,  after  we  had  tested  a  number  of  cattle  from  the 
producers  and  reported  the  fact  to  the  producers  as  well  as  to  the  dis- 
tributers, we  came  to  the  Big  Elm  Dairy  Co.,  and  we  tested  a  sample  of 
milk  from  them  in  the  usual  way  by  injecting  the  sample  into  guinea 
pigs,  using  two  pigs,  the  animals  both  re-acting.  I  served  upon  them 
a  notice  requiring  them  to  have  their  producers  submit  their  cattle  to  the 
State  tubercular  test  under  the  auspices  of  the  State  who  were  then  mak- 
ing tubercular  tests.  They  objected  to  my  decision  and  appealed  to  the 
Commissioner  of  Public  Safety.  I  said  at  that  time  in  my  letter,  quoted 
under  date  of  July  8th,  1910,  to  the  Big  Elm  Dairy  Co. : 

"Gentlemen : — 

Those  of  your  producers  who  do  not  comply  with  my  direction  in  the  matter  of 
a  State  tubercular  test  will  have  their  milk  excluded  from  Rochester  after 
January  — ,  1910." 

"They  made  an  appeal : 

(Reading  from  letter  on  page  470  of  letter  book,  dated  June  28,  1910,  from 
Health  Officer  Goler  to  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Safety.) 
"Sir:— 

"At  9:30  this  morning  I  received  a  telephonic  notice  from  Mr.  Hughes  that 
the  hearing  in  the  matter  of  the  Big  Elm  Dairy  Company  had  been  postponed 
from  the  date  set  by  you,  Wednesday,  to  Friday,  and  perhaps  next  week. 

"Shortly  after  the  Big  Elm  Dairy  Company  was  found  selling  milk  from 
tuberculous  cattle  I  exhibited  to  you  and  to  His  Honor  the  Mayor,  the  animal 
which  was  infected  from  its  milk. 

"My  object  in  writing  this  letter  is  that  you  may  know  that  I  believe  the  Big 
Elm  Dairy  Company  is  striving  to  gain  time,  and  that  in  doing  so  it  may  still 
further  infect  the  children  of  Rochester  with  tuberculosis,  and  that  it  is  further 
seeking  to  gain  time  so  that  its  producers  with  tuberculous  cattle  may  swap  cattle 
or  get  rid  of  them,  and  thus  help  to  bring  any  State  test  that  may  be  made  into 
ill  repute. 

"I  object  to  the  delay  in  the  hearing  in  this  matter  because  it  will  work 
further  harm  in  raising  the  question  among  men  whose  cattle  are  found  tuberculous 
by  the  tests  we  are  making;  as  to  whether  they  should  not  resort  to  the  same 


166  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

methods  of  trickery  that  this  company  always  resorts  to  in  cases  where  the  question 
of  the  better  conservation  of  the  milk  supply  arises  in  this  city. 

"We  have  proven  that  in  similar  tests  of  1,665  of  the  8,000  cattle  furnishing 
Rochester  with  milk,  19%  re-acted  and  were  slaughtered.  Some  were  so  badly 
infected  with  tuberculosis  that  they  had  to  be  tanked  for  phosphate  and  we  have 
proven  the  Big  Elm  Dairy  Company  to  be  selling  milk  from  some  cattle  fit  for 
fertilizer,  but  not  fit  to  furnish  milk  for  our  babies. 

"Respectfully  submitted, 

"G.  W.  GOLER, 

"Health  Officer." 

(Letter  of  direction  to  Dr.  Goler  from  Commissioner  Charles  H.  Owen,  dated 
July  8th,  1910.) 

"G.  W.  Goler,  M.  D.,  Health  Officer. 
"Dear  Sir  :— 

"Relative  to  the  appeal  of  the  Big  Elm  Dairy  Company  of  this  city  from  your 
order  of  June  20th,  upon  which  decision  was  rendered  by  me  this  day,  would  request 
that  your  bureau  procure  samples  of  milk  from  every  producer  shipping  their 
product  to  this  city  whose  herds  have  not  been  subjected  to  the  tuberculin  test, 
or  application  for  test  filed  with  the  State  Commission,  and  that  the  samples  of 
these  various  producers  as  soon  as  practicable,  be  subjected  to  the  guinea  pig  test 
for  the  detection  of  tuberculosis. 

"After  making  these  tests,  any  of  the  herds  which,  you  believe  to  be  infected 
with  tuberculosis,  I  desire  that  you  report  the  same  to  this  office  and  I  will  im- 
mediately notify  the  State  Commission  of  Agriculture  of  your  findings,  and  request 
that  they  make  a  tuberculin  test  without  waiting  for  the  owners  of  the  herds  to 
formally  sign  an  application  for  such  inspection. 

"I  am  of  the  opinion  that  eventually  all  milk  shipped  into  this  city  should  be 
tuberculin  tested,  and  this  Department  is  at  the  present  time  considering  the  issuing 
of  an  order  making  it  obligatory  upon  the  part  of  all  milk  producers  shipping  milk 
into  this  city  to  have  their  herds  tuberculin  tested.  I  realize  that  such  an  under- 
taking will  require  some  months'  time,  and,  after  further  consultation,  this  Depart- 
ment will  probably  set  some  future  date,  after  which  all  milk  will  be  excluded  from 
the  City  of  Rochester  which  has  not  been  tuberculin  tested. 

"Very  truly  yours, 

"CHARLES  S.  OWEN, 
"Commissioner  of  Public  Safety." 

Nearly  ten  years  ago  and  no  order  has  been  issued. 

(Letter  of  Dr.  Goler  from  Commissioner  Owen,  dated  July  8th,  1910.) 
"In  the  matter  of  the  appeal  of  the  Big  Elm  Dairy  Company,  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
from  the  following  order  of  the  Health  Officer: 

June  20,  1910. 
Big  Elm  Dairy  Company, 

'Gentlemen : — 

Those  of  your  producers  who  do  not  comply  with  my  direction  in  the  matter 
of  a  State  tuberculin  test,  will  have  their  milk  excluded  from  Rochester  after 
Monday,  June  27,  1910. 

'(Signed.)        G.  W.  GOLER, 

'Health  Officer.' 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 167 

"As  provided  by  the  Charter  of  the  City  of  Rochester,  a  public  hearing  was 
held  in  the  office  of  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Safety  on  the  above  appeal, 
Friday,  July  1,  1910.  The  Big  Elm  Dairy  Company  appeared  by  its  President,  Mr. 
A.  E.  Wood  and  by  counsel. 

"By  the  testimony  of  Inspector  Brownell  of  the  Health  Bureau,  it  was  shown 
that  on  or  about  April  7th,  1910,  acting  under  instructions  of  the  Health  Officer, 
he  procured  a  sample  of  cream  and  a  sample  of  milk  from  the  separator  operated 
by  the  Big  Elm  Dairy  Company  at  their  plant  on  Exchange  Street  in  this  city. 
After  passing  these  samples  through  the  laboratory  of  the  Health  Bureau,  they 
•were  subjected  to  the  guinea  pig  test  used  by  the  Health  Bureau  for  detecting 
tuberculosis  in  cattle.  The  result  of  the  test  was  positive  and  was  the  basis  for 
the  order  made  by  the  Health  Officer,  which  is  now  appealed  from. 

"By  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  under  oath,  it  was  shown  that  the  milk 
being  run  through  the  Big  Elm  Dairy  Company's  separator  at  the  time  these 
samples  were  taken  by  Inspector  Brownell,  was  from  one  of  the  producers  shipping 
milk  to  this  company  and  not  from  several  producers.  In  view  of  the  evidence  of 
these  two  witnesses,  and  as  a  matter  of  justice  to  all  concerned,  I  am  of  the  opinion 
that  for  the  present  at  least,  the  order  of  the  Health  Officer  should  be  modified 
so  as  to  apply  only  to  the  milk  of  the  producer  from  which  the  samples  in  question 
were  taken.  It  is  therefore, 

'ORDERED,  That  the  order  of  the  Health  Officer,  dated  June  20,  1910,  and 
directed  to  the  Big  Elm  Dairy  Company,  be,  and  hereby  is  modified,  so  as  to  call 
for  the  exclusion  from  the  city  of  the  milk  and  cream  produced  by  J.  F.  White 
&  Company,  until  such  time  as  the  J.  F.  White  &  Company  herd  of  cattle  is  sub- 
jected to  the  State  tuberculin  test. 

'(Signed.)        CHARLES  S.  OWEN, 

'Commissioner  of  Public  Safety.' 

"To  G.  W.  Goler,  M.  D,  Health  Officer."  .  '  , 

(Reading  of  letter  from  G.  W.  Goler,  Health  Officer,  dated  July  11,  1910,  to 
Charles  S.  Owen,  Commissioner  of  Public  Works.) 

"Hon.  Charles  S.  Owen,  Commissioner  of  Public  Works, 

Rochester,  N.  Y. 
"Sir:— 

"Beginning  a  year  ago  last  January  the  Health  Bureau  has  been  working  to 
prove  by  the  guinea  pig  test,  the  general  provisions  with  which  you  are  familiar, 
the  number  of  retailers  selling  milk  in  Rochester  from  cattle  whose  milk  is  capable 
of  producing  marked  naked  eye  lesions  of  tuberculosis  in  those  animals. 

"Rochester  receives  daily  80,000  quarts  of  milk  from  8,000  cows  from  700 
farms.  This  of  course  does  not  include  the  cream  received.  With  our  limited 
force  of  milk  inspectors,  we  have  not  been  able  to  determine  just  how  much  cream 
is  received,  for  it  comes  from  very  many  small  farms  and  is  received  at  creameries 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Newark,  Horseheads,  Norwich,  Conesus,  and  some  other 
places.  The  milk  and  cream  received  into  the  city  are  disposed  of  by  133  dealers, 
all  of  whom  are,  and  have  been  for  some  time,  selling  milk  without  licenses. 

"In  beginning  our  work  in  an  attempt  to  further  protect  child  life  in  Rochester, 
and  considering  the  limited  facilities,  we  took  samples  of  milk  in  original  packages, 
or  in  sterile  pine  bottles  from  the  retailers,  because  we  believed  that  the  retailer, 
whether  getting  milk  from  one  or  many  producers,  should  be  held  responsible  for 
the  milk  he  sold,  and  that  if  he  be  found  with  milk  in  his  possession  capable  of 
producing  marked  naked  eye  lesions  of  tuberculosis,  the  burden  of  proof  should 


168  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

then  be  upon  him  to  show  that  his  entire  supply  was  free  from  tuberculosis  by  the 
State  tuberculin  test  of  his  herds,  applied  by  the  Veterinary  Division  of  the  State 
Department  of  Agriculture. 

"For  something  more  than  a  year  past  we  have  worked  upon  this  plan.  Mr. 
Marshall,  our  Milk  Inspector,  has  been  most  diligent;  our  chemist,  Mr.  Milligan, 
has  pursued  this  work  with  enthusiasm;  and  now  at  the  end  of  the  period  which 
will  expire  at  the  close  of  the  current  month,  we  shall  have  finished  the  test  of  the 
retailers  upon  this  plan.  We  planned  this  work  to  end  with  the  beginning  of 
summer,  because  the  work  of  the  summer  milk  stations  then  begins.  Vacations 
also  begin,  and  the  summer  activities  of  the  Bureau  are  sufficient  to  occupy  all  of. 
its  energies. 

"The  plan  which  you  request  us  to  carry  out  in  your  letter  would  involve  the 
test  of  500  producers.  Estimating  for  deaths  that  might  occur  as  a  result  of 
acute  infections,  at  least  1,200  guinea  pigs  would  be  required  in  lots  of  106  each. 
New  pens  and  new  stock  pens  would  be  required.  Our  centrifugal  machine  would 
have  to  be  repaired  and  a  new  centrifugal  machine  provided.  New  glasses  for 
the  centrifugal  machine  would  have  to  be  made,  and  these  in  the  winter  we  have 
never  been  able  to  get  in  less  than  a  month  or  six  weeks. 

"The  glass  factories  are  shut  down  now,  and  an  order  could  not  be  placed  for 
them  before  the  15th  of  September.  We  have  on  hand  just  one  set  of  glasses.  If 
we  should  adopt  the  plan  contained  in  your  letter  and  should  work  twice  as  fast, 
assuming  that  supplies  and  apparatus  were  in  readiness,  it  would  take  us  more  than 
a  year  to  finish  the  work. 

"The  test  known  as  the  guinea  pig  test,  with  which  we  are  working,  is  always 
positive  when  it  is  positive;  but  when  it  is  negative,  it  does  not  prove  that  the 
cattle  tested  are  free  from  tuberculosis.  In  our  work  thus  far,  not  counting  the 
samples  of  retailers  that  we  already  have  under  way,  and  that  will  be  finished  by 
the  end  of  the  month,  we  have  tested  in  round  number  1,700,  more  than  20%  of 
the  8,000  cattle  supplying  Rochester  with  milk.  More  than  200  of  these  cattle  have 
been  killed,  i.  e.,  more  than  12%  of  the  cattle  found  infected  through  our  work. 

,"Mr.  Marshall,  the  Milk  Inspector,  has  persuaded  41  of  the  58  owners  of  the 
herds  tested  by  the  guinea  pig  test,  to  have  their  herds  tested  by  the  State  Veterin- 
arian, by  representing  to  them  the  economic  value  of  this  test.  He  has  gone  to 
these  men  and  carefully  presented  the  case  to  them,  filled  out  a  form  such  as  the 
enclosed,  and  forwarded  the  form  to  Albany. 

"All  that  I  have  said  in  this  letter  of  course  deals  with  milk  only,  and  not  with 
cream.  The  people  in  Rochester  are  buying  tuberculous  cream  from  cattle  kept 
in  the  filthiest  conditions,  from  creameries  filthy  in  the  extreme,  and  the  large 
companies  who  sell  cream  to  the  people  in  this  vicinity  are  getting  cream  from 
such  places.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  determine,  I  have  not  been  able  to 
stop  this  practice. 

"If,  after  my  explanation  contained  in  this  letter,  you  still  believe  that  the 
work  should  be  carried  on  as  requested  in  your  letter  of  July  8th,  will  you  not  direct 
by  order  that  the  work  be  so  carried  on. 

"Respectfully  submitted, 

(Signed.)        G.  W.  GOLER, 

"Health  Officer." 

That  is  the  way  they  stopped  us. 

Q.     Well,  Dr.  Goler,  I  understand  that  as  a  result  of  this  hearing 
before  Commissioner  Owen,  it  was  determined  by  him  that  the  milk  you 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 169 

tested  and  found  re-acted  on  the  guinea  pigs,  was  from  the  dairy  of  the 
J.  R.  White  Company. 

A.  That  was  one  of  the  dairy  companies.  The  J.  R.  White  Com- 
pany were  dealers  in  high  grade  cattle,  and  their  cattle  were  sold.  They 
were  very  careful  about  their  cattle.  All  their  calves  which  were  very 
precious  to  them  and  very  valuable,  were  being  treated  by  killed  cultures. 
All  tuberculins  by  themselves.  No  tuberculins  near  immunes  in  order 
to  protect  them  against  tuberculins.  But  they  are  willing  to  take  tuber- 
culins and  sell  the  milk  to  Rochester,  and  that  was  the  only  recourse  we 
had  then.  Another  lot  of  cattle  came  along  that  were  tubercular,  and  we 
could  not  do  anything  after  that. 

Q.  You  found  that  milk  that  was  complained  of  here  in  the  Big 
Elm  Dairy  Company  came  from  the  J.  R.  White  Company? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     And  you  requested  them  to  make  the  test  ? 

A.     We  had  already. 

Q.     They  were  excluded  until  the  test  was  made? 

A.  Such  a  test  had  already  been  made.  There  was  a  controversy 
on  that  side. 

Q.     What  was  the  controversy? 

A.  Owen  was  my  superior.  I  never  had  any  trouble  with  my  su- 
perior— until  now  I  am  ready  to  resign. 

Q.  I  do  not  understand  yet  how  you  were  prevented  from  making 
this  test. 

A.  The  Big  Elm  Company  stopped  us  in  this  way.  They  had  five 
hundred  producers,  just  as  the  City  Dairy  Company,  the  rottenest  com- 
pany that  sold  milk  to  Rochester.  They  were  filthy  beyond  measure— 
the  Brighton  Place  Dairy  Company  taking  milk  from  vast  numbers  of 
tuberculous  cattle.  We  wanted  to  go  in  and  test  the  herds,  instead  of 
making  tests  from  finished  producers  of  one  of  these  big  companies  who 
massed  the  milk,  and  produce  the  burden  of  proof  on  the  large  companies. 

Q.     You  had  no  authority  to  do  that? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     You  had  authority  to  test  the  herds  ? 

A.  We  did  of  all  the  small  dealers,  testing  them  first,  realizing  that 
just  as  soon  as  we  got  up  against  the  big  companies  we  would  run  against 
a  stone  wall,  as  we  did. 

Q.     What  was  there  to  prevent  your  testing  the  herds  of  the  Big 

Elm  Company? 

A.  Simply  because  we  were  at  the  end  of  our  rope.  At  this  time 
we  had  two  and  a  half  milk  inspectors  to  do  this  work.  We  could  not 
in  the  nature  of  things.  We  had  to  plan  our  work  so  that  when  we  had 


170  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

a  let  down  at  one  time,  we  could  do  a  little  more  work  of  one  kind  than 
another,  and  to  test,  as  I  said  in  my  letter,  it  would  then  have  taken  us 
a  year  to  do  that  sort  of  work,  and  we  could  not  begin  until  after  the 
summer  season  was  over,  because  the  glass  factories  were  shut  down, 
and  we  had  worn  out  our  centrifugal  machines  in  getting  out  these 
samples  of  milk. 

Q.  That  is  the  last  that  has  been  done  in  regard  to  the  tubercular 
test? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  There  is  not  any  reason  why  you  should  not  have  gone  out  the 
next  year,  when  you  got  ypur  machinery  ? 

A.     No,  sir,  there  was  not. 

Q.  And  so  since  1910  there  has  not  been  any  test  made  to  indicate 
whether  or  not  tubercular  milk  was  being  furnished  to  the  people  of  the 
City  of  Rochester? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Do  you  believe  it  is  being  furnished? 

A.     I  am  sure  of  it. 

Q.     What  is  the  reason  that  your  Department  does  not  go  on  with  it? 

A.     I  have  not  the  help. 

Q.  How  much  help  should  you  have  to  do  it  then,  what  help  to  go 
on  with  this  work? 

A.  We  should  have  at  the  present  time  two  or  three  additional 
milk  inspectors.  We  are  -not  able  to  do  it  with  the  milk  inspectors  now 
as  it  should  be  done;  an  additional  chemist,  because  the  work  is  alto- 
gether too  much  for  one  chemist;  and  one  bacteriologist.  We  have  had 
work  pile  up  in  a  very  considerable  way,  and  work  that  was  quite  as  im- 
portant as  this,  and  this  is  only  a  sample  of  the  kind  of  piece  work  we 
attempted  to  do  to  see  whether  the  people  of  Rochester  were  interested. 
But  they  were  not  interested;  and  the  Milk  Commission  was  not  inter- 
ested. The  Milk  Commission  was  not  interested  in  getting  ordinary  milk 
tested  to  see  whether  the  ordinary  babies  would  have  milk  from  tuber- 
culin tested  cows.  They  were  only  interested  in  testing  certified  milk. 

Q.  With  two  or  three  inspectors  and  an  additional  chemist  you 
could  go  ahead  testing  all  the  cows  from  which  milk  comes  ? 

A.  Very  well,  yes,  sir,  and  put  the  burden  of  proof  on  the  big  com- 
panies to  show  that  the  herds  from  which  they  get  milk  are  free  from 
tuberculins.  From  five  to  seven  per  cent,  of  all  tuberculosis  was — I  don't 
know  what  the  figures  are  now — due  to  bovine  tuberculosis. 

Q.     Is  the  guinea  pig  test  still  in  vogue  ? 

A.     I  don't  know. 

Q.     Did  you  lose  all  interest  in  the  matter  ? 

A.     I  did  lose  all  interest.     I  have  lost  absolutely  all  interest  in  the 


MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 171 

whole  milk  question,  save  for  doing  this  kind  of  work,  because  the  people 
of  Rochester  have  not  been  interested  in  the  kind  of  milk  which  they  fed 
to  their  children  and  fed  to  themselves — any  more  than  the  interest  in 
the  kind  of  water  they  get. 

Q.  You  don't  want  to  testify  that  your  interest  in  providing  a 
wholesome  milk  supply  for  the  City  of  Rochester  depends  upon  whether 
or  not  they  know  the  danger  they  run? 

A.     No. 

Q.  What  I  would  like  to  know,  and  what  the  Council  would  like 
to  know,  is  why  you  have  not  proceeded  to  obtain  this  extra  help  that  is. 
needed  to  go  ahead  and  test  these  cattle? 

A.     I  have  asked  for  the  help,  but  I  have  n't  had  it. 

jQ.  Can  you  tell  us  when  you  asked  for  this  extra  help?  Is  it  a 
matter  of  record? 

A.     It  is. 

Q.     When  was  it?« 

A.     Several  times. 

Q.     You  will  look  it  up  and  furnish  it  to  us  ? 

A.     Be  glad  to. 

Q.     Now,  milk  is  dipped  in  the  City  of  Rochester  to  some  extent? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  That  means  taking  the  can  that  the  producer  delivered  it  in 
around  and  dipping  out  of  it  into  the  consumer's  pail? 

A.  Yes.  In  response  to  that  question  of  course  it  means  grocer's 
dipped  milk. 

Q.     That  is,  grocers  have  it  in  cans  and  dip  it  out  ? 

A.     In  the  outskirts,  yes. 

Q.  Sometimes  the  original  package  in  which  it  was  poured  from 
the  milk  pail? 

A.     I  don't  know  about  that. 

Q.     What  is  the  objection  to  that? 

A.  The  objection  to  that  is  that  milk  may  be  put  into  dirty  con- 
tainers; that  is,  the  milk  may  be  contaminated  by  the  surroundings  in 
which  the  milk  is  kept.  There  are  some  dangers  of  that  kind  to  which 
milk  in  grocery  stores  may  be  exposed. 

Q.  There  is  no  ordinance  or  statute  prohibiting  that  in  the  City  of 
Rochester  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Do  you  think  there  should  be  ? 

A.  I  do.  When  considering  that  point,  I  have  advocated  for  some 
time  that  wherever  milk  was  sold,  it  should  be  in  the  original  package: 
That  is,  if  Jones  wanted  to  buy  milk  from  a  large  milk  dealer,  he  should 


172 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

buy  and  sell  in  original  packages.  The  answer  to  that  was  that  these 
people  could  buy  dipped  milk  that  was  good  for  food  for  adults  and  not 
dangerous — you  can  buy  cheaper  than  when  sold  in  original  packages. 

Q.  Now,  Doctor,  there  have  been  occasions  when  your  attention 
has  been  forcibly  called  to  the  contraction  of  typhoid  fever  from  milk  in 
the  city? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     What  were  some  of  those  occasions,  tell  us  about  them? 

A.  Let  us  read  it  from  the  record.  As  far  as  I  know  there  has  been 
.no  typhoid  in  Rochester  traceable  to  milk  in  a  number  of  years. 

Q.     How  many? 

A.  Well,  one's  memory — I  hesitate  about  that  question  in  giving  you 
a  number;  more  than  five  I  would  say.  How  many  more  than  five  I 
can't  tell  you. 

Q.  On  the  subject  of  sanitation  and  the  delivery  to  the  people  of 
wholesale  milk,  what  do  you  say  ought  to  be  done  in  the  City  of  Rochester 
that  is  not — to  secure  people  a  supply  of  wholesome  milk  at  the  lowest 
possible  cost? 

A.  In  the  first  place,  we  will  have  to  have  some  department  inspec- 
tion and  laboratory  service.  That  is  the  first  thing. 

Q.     Tell  us  what  they  would  do. 

A.  Simply  supplement  the  work  of  the  inspectorial  staff  that  is 
being  done.  We  are  not  able  under  present  conditions  to  make  the  num- 
ber or  kind  of  inspections  with  sufficient  frequency  that  a  reasonably 
safe  milk  supply  requires. 

Q.  How  often  do  you  think  the  dealers'  supply  ought  to  be  in- 
spected ? 

A.  That  depends  upon  the  dealers.  Some  of  the  dealers  would  need 
very  little  inspection,  some  of  them  ought  to  be  inspected  every  month; 
some  ought  not  to  be  in  business  at  all. 

Q.     Why  are  they  in  business? 

A.  Because  there  is  no  legal  way  of  putting  them  out  of  business, 
and  no  sufficient  force  of  inspectors  to  determine  which  ought  not  to  be 
in  the  business. 

Q.  What  we  need  then  is  a  sufficient  force  so  as  to  find  which  of 
these  dealers  ought  not  to  be  in  the  business ;  then  we  need  some  new  ma- 
chinery whereby  we  can  put  them  out  of  business? 

A.  It  is  rather  an  extension  of  the  present  machinery.  As  far  as  I 
am  concerned,  I  have  no  fault  to  find  with  the  present  machinery.  The 
present  machinery  is  doing  all  that  it  possibly  can  do.  It  cannot  stand 
very  much  more  stress. 

Q.     Added  inspection  and  laboratory  equipment  and  help? 


MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 173 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     And  what  else  ? 

A.     I  think  that  covers  it. 

Q.  What  have  you  to  suggest,  Doctor,  in  regard  to  the  price  of 
milk?  How  can  we  get  cheaper  milk? 

A.     We  can  get  cheaper  milk  by  simplifying  delivery. 

Q.     In  what  respect? 

A.  Simply  by  zones.  I  don't  mean  absolutely  by  zoning,  but  by 
dividing  the  town  up  into  districts,  so  a  man  does  not  have  to  cross  and 
re-cross — one  man  does  not  have  to  re-cross  another  man's  district.  The 
letter  carrier,  Mr.  Van  Duser  of  the  letter  carriers'  organization,  struck 
the  note  last  night.  And  a  good  many  years  ago  there  appeared  in  one 
of  the  Fabian  publications  in  England,  the  statement  of  a  man  who  was 
looking  out  of  the  window  and  said  he  saw  14  grocery  wagons,  seven 
or  eight  butcher  wagons,  and  Lord  knows  how  many  other  wagons — 
and  one  postman. 

Q.     Do  you  advocate  some  system  of  compelling  the  dealers? 

A.     I  do  not  know.    I  would  not'  compel  them. 

Q.     How  would  you  get  at  it  ? 

A.     I  don't  know.    I  think  we  need  information ;  I  want  to  know. 

Q.  Doctor,  going  back  to  the  question  of  the  tubercular  test,  assum- 
ing that  this  appeal  has  been  made,  and  this  order  was  made  by  Commis- 
sioner Owen  at  the  time,  what  was  there  other  than  shortage  of  help  in 
your  department,  to  prevent  these  tests  from  going  on  ? 

A.  I  have  gone  over  that  already,  Mr.  Bechtold,  and  told  Mr.  Pierce, 
and  told  the  Committee  in  answer  to  Mr.  Pierce's  questions,  that  there 
was  not  anything  to  interfere  except  shortage  of  help.  It  was  impossible 
to  get  help,  and  because  of  the  work  and  our  material  being  worn  out, 
and  it  would  take  us  a  year  to  go  on  with  the  work. 

Q.  Why  did  you  make  the  statement  or  say  that  the  large  companies 
prevented  you  from  continuing  this? 

A.     They  did. 

Q.  Your  reply  is  inconsistent,  Doctor.  It  seems  to  me  this  shortage 
of  help — the  companies  did  not  have  anything  to  do  with  that? 

A.  They  did  not  have  anything  to  do  with  that,  but  when  they  ob- 
jected to  that  order,  and  made  me  go  to  New  York  by  way  of  San 
Francisco  and  China,  that  is  the  way  they  interfere  with  our  doing  the 
work. 

Q.     Have  you  reference  to  this  one  appeal? 

A.     This  one  appeal,  because  we  did  nothing  after  the  appeal. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  that  that  was  fair  ?  To  cut  off  a  contaminated 
source  of  supply  for  any  company — don't  you  think  that  is  fair  ? 


174 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

A.     Yes — to  cut  off  one  and  let  the  other  very  large  number  remain. 

Q.  Do  you  have  any  figures  as  to  the  portion  of  re-actors  in  the 
territory  furnishing  milk  to  Rochester? 

A.     The  figures  I  gave  you  a  little  while  ago. 

O.     How  much  ? 

A.     Somewhere  between  fifteen  and  twenty  per  cent. 

Q.     One  herd  went  fifty  per  cent.  ? 
,    A.     One  herd  was  fifty  per  cent,  tuberculous. 

Q.     An  average  of  twenty  per  cent.? 

A.  I  don't  know  what  the  average  would  be  now.  Perhaps  less, 
because  farmers  are  taking  better  care  of  their  cattle;  they  are  doing 
more  things ;  they  are  trying  to  eliminate  the  cow  that  is  no  longer  good 
for  much,  that  is  not  paying  her  board.  And  I  think  by  that  same  token 
there  are  fewer  tuberculous  cattle  in  herds. 

Q.     You  would  be  in  favor  of  the  city  taking  over  the  milk  business  ? 

A.     I  am — taking  over  the  distributing  end. 

Q.     Not  the  producing  end? 

A.     No. 

Q.  Your  opinion  would  be  based  upon  what  was  disclosed  as  a 
result  of  a  study  of  this  kind,  assuming  that  the  study  goes  into  the  ques- 
tion of  the  distribution  of  milk? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  You  mean  by  that,  that  if  the  study  of  this  situation  disclosed 
that  it  was  advisable  to  the  city  to  go  into  the  business,  you  would  be  in 
favor  of  it? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     And  if  it  did  not,  you  would  not? 

A.     No. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  about  the  milk  supply  of  the  City  of  Roch- 
ester ?  What  is  your  belief  ? 

A.  My  belief,  based  on  some  considerable  observation  both  in  the 
past  and  at  the  present  time,  and  upon  reports  from  the  nurses  working 
in  our  welfare  stations,  and  who  have  been  familiar  with  the  work  in  the 
welfare  stations  and  in  the  densely  populated  districts,  is  that  our  chil- 
dren are  not  getting  milk  as  they  once  were  getting  milk;  not  as  they 
ought  to  get  it.  Now,  what  else  they  are  lacking  which  they  might  get, 
nobody  knows.  As  I  said  this  morning,  we  are  going  to  have  examples 
of  pot-bellied  children,  with  skeleton  legs  and  arms.  Unless  we  can  get 
better  nutrition  for  our  little  children,  we  are  certainly  going  to  have  a 
race  deterioration  of  some  kind  in  some  degree  in  the  very  near  future; 
and  reasoning  from  biological  grounds,  the  young,  when  it  has  been  once 
deprived  of  its  nutrition  in  early  life,  does  not  readily  regain  that  which 
it  has  once  lost.  • 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 1?5 

TESTIMONY  OF  MR.  F.  E.  GANNETT 

MR.  F.  E.  GANNETT,  who  appeared  as  a  witness  at  a  public  hearing, 
held  at  the  City  Hall,  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  on  July  23,  1919,  gave  the  follow- 
ing statement: 

Q.  You  have  been  in  the  newspaper  business  for  some  time,  I 
believe? 

A.     Yes,  about  twenty  years. 

Q.  During  the  past  year,  you  paid  special  attention  to  the  subject 
of  milk  in  the  City  of  Rochester  and  its  production  outside,  etc.? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Will  you  tell  us  yi  your  own  way  what  you  have  done  about  that 
and  what  you  have  ascertained  and  what  your  conclusions  are  that  you 
found  out  ?  r  ; 

A.  Well,  my  attention  was  first  called  to  the  milk  situation  in  Roch- 
ester a  year  ago  when  I  looked  over  the  report  of  the  Health  Bureau  of 
the  city.  That  report  was  so  astounding  to  me  that  I  began  to  look  into 
the  question.  The  report  for  July,  19,18,  for  instance,  showed  that  there 
were  ten  dealers  selling  milk  here  with  a  bacteria  count  of  over  five  mil- 
lion; there  were  eighteen  selling  milk  with  over  three  million  counts. 
There  were  forty-one  with  over  a  million  counts.  Of  this  whole  number 
only  nineteen  were  pasteurized. 

I  had  had  the  impression  from  living  out  of  the  city  that  Rochester 
milk  supply  was  about  the  best  in  the  country  and  I  was  quite  amazed  to 
find  that  they  were  not  only  not  protected  against  impure  milk,  but  that 
most  of  the  milk  had  a  very  high  bacteria  count  from  those  figures  ap- 
parently. 

SANITARY  CONDITION  OF  ROCHESTER  MILK  SUPPLY 
DAIRY  FARM  SANITATION 

The  dairy  farm  inspectors  who  were  employed  by  the  Survey  to  visit 
dairy  farms,  did  so  with  two  purposes  in  view.  In  the  first  place  they 
made  studies  of  the  cost  of  milk  production  j  and  in  addition  to  this  they 
made  inspections  of  the  dairy  on  each  farm  to  determine  the  sanitary 
conditions.  For  the  purpose  of  the  sanitary  inspection  they  used  a  printed 
report  blank  which  was  especially  prepared  for  this  work,  and  noted 
thereon  a  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  buildings  and  equipment  and 
the  manner  in  which  all  of  the  dairy  operations  were  performed.  One 
hundred  and  forty-one  dairy  farms  located  in  each  of  the  important  dis- 
tricts from  which  Rochester  milk  is  furnished,  were  inspected  in  this 
way,  and  report  blanks  from  each  farm  returned  to  the  office  of  the  Sur- 
vey. From  these  blanks  a  summary  was  prepared,  which  shows  the 
results  of  these  sanitary  inspections,  as  indicated  in  Table  No.  87. 


176 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


TABLE  NO.  87 

PUBLIC  SAFETY  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  COMMON  COUNCIL  OF 
ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 

MILK  SURVEY 

CHARLES  E.  NORTH,  M.  D.,  DIRECTOR  OF  SURVEY. 

REPORT  OF  DAIRY  FARM  SANITATION 
Total  number  of  farms  inspected 141 

Cows:  Yes.        No.    Good.     Bad. 

Physical  examination  of  cows  by  veterinarian 134            4 

Tuberculin  tested  by  veterinarian 20        105 

EMPLOYEES  : 

Diseased 141 

Cow  FEED: 

Distillery  waste  used  31        110 

Any  unwholesome  food   1         140 

Cow  STABLE: 

Construction    . .           . .         138            3 

Sanitation  . .           . .         137            4 

Cow  YARD  : 

Condition    127          10 

WATER  SUPPLY: 

Safe   138           2 

PRIVIES  : 

Safe   132           4 

MILK  HOUSE: 

Construction    . .           . ,         140 

Sanitation  . .  . .           . .         140 

MILKING  : 

Udders  clean  114          

Hands  clean 121 

MILK  PAILS: 

Small  tops 131            6 

Pail  racks 135            2 

Sanitation  s . .           . .         139 

MILK  CANS  AND  LIDS  : 

Inverted  on  can  racks  . . . , 129          10 

Sanitation  . .           . .         134            5 

WASHING  PAILS  AND  CANS: 

Performed  at  once  128          12 

Brushes  used 102          36 

Alkali  powder  used 116          20 

Is  washing  done  mornings  only  5        134 

STRAINERS  : 

Are  strainers  used 99          31 

Are  tin  holders  used 127            7 

Condition    . .           . .         129 

Strainer  cloth  (using  one  only)    t 6 

Strainer  cloth  (using  two  or  more) 130 

Condition    ..           ..         129 

Strainer  cloths  washed  A.  M 136 

Strainer  cloths  washed  P.  M 131 

STIRRING  RODS: 

Stirring  rod  of  wood  

Stirring  rod  of  metal 49 

Sanitary    56 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


177 


STERILIZING  : 
Steam   supply    

4 

Hot  water  supply   

87 

* 

Hot  water  from  kitchen  stove  

132 

Stove  and  boiler  at  milk  house  

2 

Strainer  cloths  boiled  A.  M  

122 

Strainer  cloths  boiled  P.  M  

113 

COOLING  : 
Ice  supply  

52         79 

Sufficient  for  entire  season  

47           8 

Open  cooler  ; 

64         20 

Cooling  tank  

127           1 

Cans  submerged  up  to  neck  

125 

Is  dairy  equipped  with  scrubbing  brushes  

97         27 

Alkali  washing  powder  

106         18 

TEMPERATURE  OF 
TANK  WATER. 

TEMPERATURE  OF 
MILK  A.  M. 

TEMPERATURE  OF 
MILK  P.  M. 

40—  44°F... 

No. 
22 
19 
37 
14 
22 
8 

40    44°F.. 

No. 
4 

40    44°  F 

No. 
5 
26 
49 
20 
26 
2 

45  —  49°  p     , 

45  —  49  °F 

3 

45—49°  F 

50_54°F 

50_54°F 

50 

50_54°F 

55_59°F.  .  , 

55__59°F  

31 

55_59°F  

60-64°F... 

60_64°F  

20 

6Q_64°F  

65—70°  F.  .  . 

65_7Q°F  

7 

65—  70°F  

HOURS 

OF  MILKING 

MILK 

DELIVERED  FOR  SHIPMENT 

A.M. 
4:30  

No. 
3 
57 
44 
30 

P.M. 
2-00 

No. 
3 

A.M. 
6:30  

No.           P.  M. 
3             6:00  
.      28             6:30  

No. 
1 
1 
3 

'i 

5-00    . 

4-00 

15 

7:00  

5-30 

4-30 

9 

7-30  

.      32             7:00  

6-00 

5-00 

42 

8-00  

.      30             7:30  

6-30 

5-30 

29 

8-30     ... 

7             8:00  

7-00 

3 

6-00 

27 

9-00  ..   . 

9             8:30  
3             9-00  

6:30. 
7-00 

7 
2 

9.30 

10  -00 

5 

11  -00 

1 

From  Table  No.  87  it  is  evident  that  the  dairy  cows  were  in  ap- 
parently healthy  condition,  being  periodically  examined  physically  by  a 
veterinarian  in  accordance  with  the  State  law.  On  only  20  farms  out  of 
the  141  were  the  cows  tested  for  tuberculosis.  This  test  was  voluntary, 
as  there  is  no  State  or  City  regulation  requiring  same. 

All  farms  reported  employees  free  from  disease.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  on  31  farms  distillery  waste  was  used  for  feeding  cows.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  use  this  with  extreme  care  and  most  cities  now  prohibit  the  use 
of  such  cow  feed. 

Regarding  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  buildings  and  equipment, 
there  was  very  little  fault  that  could  be  found.  The  external  appearance 
of  these  farms  was  uniformly  good.  This  is  due  chiefly  to  the  activity 
of  the  Health  Bureau  of  the  City  of  Rochester  which  has  made  a  special 


178 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

effort  in  the  inspection  of  dairy  farms  and  as  a  result  of  these  inspections 
brought  the  majority  of  farms  to  a  condition  where  they  would  give  a 
good  sanitary  score. 

Under  the  heading  of  "Sterilizing,"  it  is  noteworthy  that  only  four 
farms  are  supplied  with  steam  boilers  and  that  only  two  farms  have  a 
stove  and  hot  water  boiler  in  the  milk  house.  One  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  farms  report  their  source  of  hot  water  supply  as  the  "Kitchen  Stove." 
Unless  the  kitchen  stove  in  a  farm  house  has  special  arrangements  for) 
furnishing  hot  water  in  excess  of  ordinary  household  needs,  (such  as  a 
wash  boiler  or  large  kettle)  it  commonly  happens  that  there  is  not  suffi- 
cient hot  water  at  all  times  to  properly  sterilize  milk  cans  and  milking 
pails.  The  sterilization  of  milk  cans  and  milk  pails  is  the  most  vital  of 
the  sanitary  operations  in  the  entire  list  and  unsanitary  milk  is  commonly 
due  to  neglect  of  such  sterilization. 

COOLING 

Under  the  head  of  "Cooling"  it  is  noteworthy  that  only  52  out  of 
141  farms  were  supplied  with  ice.  The  number  is  undoubtedly  much 
smaller  this  year  than  in  other  years,  due  to  the  unusual  shortage  of  ice 
last  winter.  In  a  climate  such  as  the  Rochester  climate,  where  a  large 
crop  of  ice  can  easily  be  obtained  each  year,  there  is  no  reason  why  every 
dairy  farmer  should  not  have  an  ice  supply  sufficient  to  cool  his  milk 
with  ice  during  hot  weather. 

The  cooling  of  the  milk  as  performed  on  these  dairy  farms  is  carried 
out  chiefly  by  the  use  of  well  water  pumped  into  tanks  in  which  the  milk 
cans  were  placed.  The  report  shows  that  on  81  of  the  farms  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  tank  water  was  from  50  to  70  degrees.  These  temperatures 
are  too  high  to  permit  sufficient  cooling  of  the  milk  or  prevent  the  growth 
of  bacteria.  The  temperature  of  the  morning's  milk  was  taken  on  108 
of  these  farms  and  ranged  as  shown  in  the  tabulation,  from  50  to  70 
degrees,  and  the  temperature  of  night's  milk  on  87  farms  had  the  same 
range.  On  the  greater  number  of  these  dairies,  both -morning's  and 
night's  milk  ranged  between  50  and  60  degrees. 

This  is  as  cool  as  it  was  possible  to  make  the  milk  with  such  water 
as  was  available  for  cooling  purposes. 

The  hours  of  milking  both  morning  and  night  were  determined  on 
most  of  the  dairy  farms,  and  hours  at  which  milk  was  delivered  to  rail- 
way stations  and  trucks  for  shipment.  The  inquiries  show  that  on  93 
farms  out  of  the  141,  the  milk  was  delivered  in  the  morning  for  shipment 
by  8:00  A.  M. 

In  general,  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  dairy  farms  compares  favor- 
ably with  the  sanitary  condition  of  dairy  farms  supplying  milk  to  other 
cities. 


.vlILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  179 

SANITARY  CONDITIONS  OF  DEALERS'  MILK  PLANTS  IN 
CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 

Four  city  milk  inspectors  were  employed  in  the  work  of  making 
sanitary  inspections  of  the  milk  factories  in  the  City  of  Rochester.  They 
used  a  standard  form  of  report  blank,  on  which  were  noted  the  conditions 
of  plants  and  their  equipment,  the  methods  used  in  the  performance  of 
all  operations,  milk  handling,  the  temperatures  of  pasteurization  and  of 
cooling  milk,  and  the  efficiency  of  the  processes  of  washing  and  steril- 
izing. In  addition  to  this,  other  minor  features  of  the  conduct  of  the 
business  were  noted.  One  hundred  and  thirty-two  milk  delivery  stations 
in  the  city  were  inspected  in  this  manner,  out  of  a  total  number  of  136. 
Detailed  reports  of  these  inspections  were  delivered  to  the  office  of  the 
Survey  and  by  the  statisticians  summarized  in  the  form  of  a  tabulation 
as  indicated  in  Table  No.  88. 

TABLE  NO.  88 

REPORT    ON    MILK   PLANTS-SANITARY    OPERATIONS 
EQUIPMENT 

Yes.  No. 

1.  BUILDING — Located  among  sanitary  surroundings 116  16 

2.  FLOORS — Constructed  of   water-tight  material 128  2 

2a.  Floor  properly  graded  and  drained 120 

3.  WALLS  AND  CEILINGS — Constructed  of  hard  material Ill  17 

3a.  Smooth 105  16 

3b.  In  good  repair . Ill  14 

4.  DRAINAGE — Sufficient  floor  drains 128  2 

4a.  Disposal    satisfactory 123 

4b.  Plumbing  in  good  repair 122  5 

5.  LIGHT— Sufficient  (at  least  8%  floor  area) 1 16  11 

6.  VENTILATION — Sufficient .* 6 

7.  MILK  HANDLING  ROOMS — Separate  from  stables,  etc 

8.  REFRIGERATOR — Properly  constructed   106 

9.  WATER  SUPPLY — Adequate  125 

9a.  Tap  or  hose  bibb  connection 

9b.  Running  hot  water  convenient 107  21 

10.  LOCKERS — Provided  for  employees 

lOa.  Conveniently  located   

lOb.  Suitable  and  adequate  104 

11.  WATER  CLOSETS— Provided 

12.  WATER  CLOSETS — Properly  enclosed  and  ventilated 120 

12a.  In  good  repair 120 

12b.  Doors  self-closing   

13.  WASTE  RECEPTACLES— Suitable  if  required 44 

14.  SCREENS— In  windows  and  other  openings 44 

15.  DRESSING  ROOM— Conveniently  located 115 

15a.  Hot  running  water 

ISb.  Soap , 1#  * 

15c.  Common  towel  prohibited /  • *™ 

16.  MILK  HANDLERS— Clothing  of  white  wash  material M 

16a.  Apparently  in  good  health }** 

17.  STABLE  FOR  HORSES— Sanitary Jy-j 

18.  MILK  WAGONS— Suitable  if  required ^  \ 

19.  BOTTLE  FILLER— Suitable 


180 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

19a.  Machinery 97 

Or,  by  hand  30 

20.  BOTTLE  CAPPER— Suitable  39             3 

20a.  Machinery  9 

Or,  by  hand 112 

21.  PUMPS  AND  PIPES — Sanitary  construction 83             6 

22.  PASTEURIZER — Sanitary  construction  23             4 

23.  COOLING  DEVICE — Sanitary  construction 80             3 

24.  VATS — Sanitary  construction    112             4 

OPERATION 

Yes.        No. 

1.  MILK  RECEIVING — Separate   

a.  Receiving  tank  sanitary  and  clean 95            18 

b.  Milk  filter  clean  and  sanitary 114 

c.  Milk  protected 

d.  Inspected  for  taint,  temperature,  sourness 109              7 

2.  BOTTLE  WASHING — Bottles  brushed 120             1 

a.  Hot  alkaline  wash  water 126              1 

b.  Rinsed  with  clean  water 124             3 

c.  Sterilized  74           53 

d.  Apparatus  used  82            32 

e.  Bottles  inverted  or  protected 119 

f.  Stored  in  sanitary  place  115              7 

g.  -Bottle  racks  washed 94           29 

3.  CAN  WASHING— Cans  brushed  128 

a.  Hot  alkaline  wash  water 131 

b.  Rinsed  with  clean  water 129             2 

c.  Apparatus  used  27           90 

d.  Sterilized  101           25 

e.  Lids  cleaned  and  sterilized  same  as  cans 99            40 

f.  Proper  can  racks  provided 

g.  Cans  free  from  rust  and  seams 129 

h.     Shipment  cans  cleaned  before  return 131              1 

4.  APPARATUS  WASHING — Including    . 

a.  Pipes,  pumps,  pasteurizer,  cooler 25 

b.  Taken  apart  daily 114             6 

c.  Apparatus  used  53            17 

d.  Brushed  with  hot  alkaline  water 124 

e.  Rinsed  with  clean  water 124 

f .  Sterilized   79            44 

g.  Steam  hose  connection  74           44 

4h.  BOILER  PRESSURE 

Lbs.  No.  Lbs.  No.  Lbs.  No. 

10 1  70 5  140  .... 

15 3  75 1  150 

20 1  80 9  160 

30 1  90 165 1 

40 11  100 10  170 

50 7  110 180 

55 1  120 2  190 

60 26  130 200 1 

45 1 

4i.    Apparatus  protected  after  sterilizing 112             6 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


181 


5.     PASTEURIZING 

1.  Milk  heated  to  :                2.  Milk  held  at: 

3.  Milk  cooled  to  : 

Temp'ture.      No.                Temp'ture.      No. 

Temp'ture.     No. 

140  4               140  5 

34  

1 

142  10               142  11 

35  

1 

144  4               144  4 

36  

1 

145  4               145....;  2 

38  

1 

40.. 

4 

All  but  one  held  30  minutes.      42  

2 

One  held  at  20  minutes 

only.      45  

3 

47  

1 

48  

1 

50  

6 

- 

Yes. 

No. 

Lbs. 

a.     Temperature  control  

17 

5 

b.     Temperature  recorder   

22 

c.     Steam  —  Hot  water  heater  

19 

d.     Mixing  in  holder  

18 

2 

f  .     Exposed  during  process  
g.     Steam  supply  adequate   
h.     Ice  supply  or  refrigeration  adequate  
i.     Pasteurizer—  Capacity    

5 
22 
21 

17 

"i 

28,381 

6.    COOLING 

a.     Raw  milk  cooled  to  :                                b. 

Raw  milk  held 

at: 

Temp'ture.           No. 

Temp'ture. 

No. 

34  2 

32  

.     1 

35  3 

34  

.      1 

36     1 

35  

.     5 

38  10 

38  

.   14 

40  46 

40  

,.    77 

42        6 

41  

.     1 

43  2 

42  

.    10 

45  18 

43  

1 

46  3 

45  

..    13 

48  3 

46  

.     2 

50  5 

48  

..     1 

50  

..     5 

Yes. 

No. 

c.     Cooler  protected  
d.     In  sanitary  place  
e.     Storage  cooling  vats  —  concrete   
f  .     Ice  water  clean   

115 
112 
103 
95 

8 
9 
3 

18 

7.  BOTTLING  AND  CAPPING  : 

Yes. 

No. 

b.     Bottling  by  automatic  device  
c.     Hands  not  allowed  to  touch  bottles  

113 
53 

10 
72 

A 

d.     Bottle  tank  covered    
e.     Caps  clean  and  protected  

113 

4 

8.  CAN  FILLING—  Filled  in  clean  manner  

20 

6 

a.    Lids  protected  

A 

1 

b.     Paper,  if  used,  clean  

c 

9.  WAGONS  —  Retail,  clean   

A1 

a.     Wholesale  —  clean    

i 

b.     Railroad  platform—  clean  

52 

101 

9 

10.  STABLE  —  clean    

182 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 


MAINTENANCE  OF  PLANT 

Yes.        No. 

1.  FLOORS— Clean   110           11 

2.  Washed  daily  95            26 

3.  WALLS  AND  CEILINGS— Clean   90 

4.  Properly  painted 75            25 

5.  WINDOWS— Clean    71           47 

6.  RUBBISH — Not  allowed  to  accumulate 43           76 

7.  Spitting  and  smoking  prohibited  101            18 

8.  WASTE  CANS— Clean  66 

9.  WATER  CLOSETS — Clean    71 

10.  MILK  HANDLERS'  CLOTHING — Clean 

11.  STREET  CLOTHING — Not  in  milk  rooms 35           85 

GENERAL 

Yes.        No. 

a.  Milk  tested  as  to  temperature  on  arrival 17  41 

b.  AVERAGE  TEMPERATURE. 

Degree    No.               Degree    No.  Degree    No. 

45 3  58 2  68 5 

50 5  62 1  69 1 

53 1  64 7  70 4 

55 1  65 1  72 1 

56 1  66 2       •       75 2 

67 2 

Yes.        No. 

c.  Milk  tested  for  fats  and  solids  11  23 

d.  PER  CENT.  BUTTER  FAT.  • 
Number  Per  cent. 

2  3.6 

1   3.4 

PER  CENT.  T.  S. 
1   12 

e.  Milk  examined  for  bacteria  count  (by  Health  Bureau)   70  41 


No. 
2... 
1... 
1... 
I... 


Count 
10,000 
12,000 
17,000 
20,000 


COLONIES  PER  cc. 
No.  Count 
30,000 
40,000 
44,000 
53,500 
70,000 


2. 
1. 
1. 
1. 
2. 


No. 

I...', 

2..., 
1.... 
1.. 


Count 

80,000 

114,000 

250,000 

400,000 


Are  caps  and  tags  marked  to  show  place  and  date  of  pasteuriza- 
tion, bottling  or  production  ?    

Has   there   been   any   infectious   disease   in    household   of    milk 

handlers  ?    

Do  you  refuse  milk  suspected  to  be  adulterated,  dirty  or  infected? 


Yes. 


22 


69 


No. 

52 

47 

1 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


183 


EMPTY  CONTAINERS  RETURNED  FROM  ROUTES 
a-  PER  CENT.  OF  BOTTLES  RETURNED  DIRTY. 

Per  cent.    No.  Per  cent.     No.  Per  cent.    No 

*£ }  ? 2  20 5 

ft \  5 7  25 5 

K3 2  8 2  40.. 

1 9  10 20  50 

2 is       12 :  2       6o::::::::i 

3 2  13 1  80...  2 

15 3 

b.  PER  CENT.  OF  CANS  RETURNED  DIRTY. 
Per  Cent.  No. 

100    9 

30    1 

.-    0    5 

c.  WHAT  STEPS  ARE  TAKEN  TO  INSURE  CLEANSING  BEFORE  RETURN  BY  CUSTOMER? 

Instructed  to  rinse  bottles 5 

Homes  visited— Drivers  held  responsible .....       I 

Nothing 38 

d.  WHAT  Do  You  Do  IN  REGARD  TO  EMPTY  RECEPTACLES  FROM  INFECTED  HOMES? 

Never  had  any 1 

Nothing     .. .  i 

Refuse 8 

Do  not  remove  them 18 

From  the  summary  of  these  reports  it  will  be  seen  that  in  most  in- 
stances the  building  and  equipment  of  the  city  milk  plants  are  in  good 
condition.  Among  the  exceptions  worthy  of  notice  are  the  following: 

(1.)     In  only  26  factories  is  a  common  towel  prohibited.     The  use  of  paper 

towels  is  to  be  recommended  where  the  cost  of  cloth  hand  towels  is  too 

expensive. 
(2.)     In  only  34  of  the  132  factories  visited  were  the  employees  dressed  in 

white,  washable  overalls. 
(3.)     Only  44  of  the   factories  were  provided  with   screens  in  the  windows 

against  flies. 
(4.)     In  only  two  factories  was  milk  received  in  a  separate  room  from  the 

other  operations. 

(5.)     In  53  of  the  plants  visited  the  glass  bottles  are  not  sterilized. 
(6.)     In  25  of  the  plants  the  milk  cans  are  not  sterilized,  and  in  40  of  them  the 

lids  of  the  cans  are  not  sterilized. 
(7.)     In  44  of  the  factories  the  apparatus  used  is  not  sterilized. 

THE  PASTEURIZATION  OF  MILK 
Four  factories  were  heating  the  milk  not  above  140  degrees.    This  is 

lower  than  the  temperature  decided  upon  by  the  highest  authorities  as 

necessary  for  the  destruction  of  bacteria  under  commercial  conditions. 
In  five  factories  the  milk  pasteurized  by  the  Holding  method  was  not 

heated  above  140  degrees,  which  is  a  temperature  too  low  for  effective 

results. 

All  of  the  factories  are  using  the  Holding  method  of  pasteurization. 

All  but  one  held  the  milk  for  30  minutes  at  the  highest  temperature, 


184  MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

which  time  is  recognized  as  necessary  for  effective  results.  One  factory 
held  the  milk  at  the  highest  temperature  for  only  20  minutes,  which  is 
too  short  a  time. 

In  the  cooling  of  milk  the  report  shows  that  in  the  pasteurizing 
plants,  9  were  cooling  to  40  degrees  and  below,  while  13  were  cooling  to 
temperatures  between  40  and  50  degrees.  It  is  recognized  for  efficient 
pasteurization  and  the  protection  of  the  milk  after  pasteurization,  that 
it  should  be  cooled  as  the  last  step  in  the  process,  to  temperatures  below 
40  degrees.  Five  of  the  pasteurizing  plants  were  not  provided  with  tem- 
perature controllers.  All  of  them  were  prbvided  with  temperature 
recorders. 

In  milk  plants  handling  raw  milk,  temperatures  to  which  milk  was 
cooled  were  also  taken.  The  report  shows  that  in  62  of  these  the  milk 
was  cooled  to  40  degrees  or  below,  which  is  satisfactory,  while  in  37  the 
milk  was  cooled  to  temperatures  of  from  40  to  50  degrees.  In  98  fac- 
tories raw  milk  was  handled  in  cold  storage  rooms  at  temperatures  below 
40  degrees,  while  in  33  factories  the  raw  milk  received  was  held  in  cold 
storage  in  temperatures  of  between  40  and  50  degrees. 

One  hundred  and  thirteen  factories  used  machinery  for  filling  bottles. 

In  53  factories  the  machinery  is  arranged  so  that  the  hands  do  not 
touch  the  bottles  during  bottlings. 

Temperatures  taken  of  milk  during  August  and  September  on  its 
arrival  in  the  city  by  inspectors,  were  taken  from  cans  on  the  railroad 
platforms.  Thirty-nine  samples  in  all  were  tested.  Of  these, 

7  were  70  degrees  and  above. 

11  "      65  to  69  degrees. 

12  "      55  to  64 
6     "      50  to  55 

3     "      45  to  50        " 

In  the  majority  of  these  samples  the  temperatures  were  too  high 
and  would  stimulate  the  growth  of  bacteria. 

Some  of  the  bacterial  tests  were  made  by  the  Health  Department 
during  the  month  that  inspections  were  recorded. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  of  the  smaller  plants  where  unsanitary 
conditions  were  found,  the  sanitary  inspectors'  reports  indicate  a  fairly 
good  condition  of  the  city  milk  factories.  Lack  of  sterilization  and  lack 
of  proper  cooling,  which  are  always  the  two  main  faults  in  milk  sanita- 
tion, are  the  most  prominent  faults  to  be  found  with  the  sanitation  of 
these  plants. 

BACTERIAL  TESTS  OF  ROCHESTER  MILK  SUPPLY 

The  sanitary  character  of  the  milk  itself  must  always  be  considered 
independently  of  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  farms  and  factories.  To 


MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER  185 

determine  the  sanitary  character  of  the  milk,  arrangements  were  made  for 
carrying  out  some  special  bacterial  tests.  The  University  of  Rochester, 
through  its  Department  of  Vital  Economics,  kindly  offered  the  facilities 
of  one  of  its  bacteriological  laboratories  to  the  bacteriologists  employed 
by  the  Survey.  These  laboratories  were  offered  without  expense  to  the 
Survey  and  every  convenience  that  could  be  desired  was  provided.  The 
Survey  employed  two  bacteriologists  at  different  times  to  collect  samples 
of  milk  and  make  bacterial  tests. 

The  total  number  of  samples  tested  was  350.  A  number  of  milk 
factories  were  visited  and  samples  taken  of  the  process  of  pasteurization 
in  order  to  determine  the  efficiency  of  this  process.  In  such  factories 
samples  were  taken  from  the  mixing  tank  in  which  the  milk  from  the 
cans  was  poured  and  mixed  before  pasteurization.  If  passed  through 
a  clarifier  before  pasteurizing,  samples  were  taken  from  the  clarifier  and 
from  each  pasteurizer.  They  were  then  taken  from  the  heater  after  the 
milk  was  heated  and  from  the  holder  after  the  milk  was  held  at  the  re- 
quired temperature  for  the  required  period  of  time.  Another  set  of 
samples  were  then  taken  from  the  cooler  after  cooling  and  from  the 
bottle  filler  after  the  milk  had  passed  through  the  filler,  but  before  it 
entered  the  bottle.  The  last  set  of  samples  were  taken  from  the  filled 
bottles  themselves.  Another  series  of  samples  were  taken  from  the  rail- 
road platforms  from  the  farmers'  cans  as  they  were  received. 

The  results  of  all  this  work  are  tabulated  and  summarized  in  Table 
No.  89. 

TABLE  No.  89 
SUMMARY  OF  TABULATION  OF  BACTERIOLOGICAL  TESTS. 

2.  (CANS.)     RAW  MILK  AS  RECEIVED: 

Bacteria  per  cc.                                                     No.  of  Samples 

Below  50,000  18 

50,000   to  100,000  

100,000   to  200,000  60 

200,000   to  500,000 47 

500,000   to  1,000,000  

1,000,000    to  5,000,000  

3.  SAMPLES  FROM  MIXING  TANK: 

Bacteria  per  cc.  No.  of  Samples 

100,000    to      200,000  

200,000   to      500,000  

500,000    to    1,000,000  ° 

1,000,000   to    5,000,000  

4.  SAMPLES  FROM  CLARIFIERS  : 

Bacteria  per  cc.  No.  of  Samples 

185,000 <• 

190,000  


186 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


5.  SAMPLES  FROM  HEATER  : 

Bacteria  per  cc.  No.  of  Samples 

1,000  to    10,000  1 

10,000  to   25,000  3 

25,000  to   50,000  4 

50,000  to   100,000  4 

100,000  to   200,000  

200,000  to   500,000 2 

6.  SAMPLES  FROM  HOLDER: 

Bacteria  per  cc.  No.  of  Samples 

1,000    to        10,000  4 

10,000  to   25,000  

25,000  to   50,000  8 

50,000  to   100,000  2 

100,000  to   200,000 2 

7.  SAMPLES  FROM  COOLER: 

Bacteria  per  cc.  No.  of  Samples 

1,000   to        10,000  3 

10,000   to        25,000  9 

25,000   to        50,000  4 

50,000   to      100,000  4 

100,000   to      200,000  2 

8.  SAMPLES  FROM  BOTTLE  FILLER: 

Bacteria  per  cc.  No.  of  Samples 

1,000   to        10,000  1 

10,000  to   25,000  3 

25,000  to   50,000  4 

50,000  to   100,000  

100,000  to   200,000  2 

500,000  to  1,000,000  

1,000,000  to  5,000,000  1 

9.  FROM  FILLED  BOTTLES  : 

Bacteria  per  cc.  No.  of  Samples 

1,000  to    10,000  4 

10,000  to   25,000  5 

25,000  to   50,000  11 

50,000  to   100,000  11 

100,000  to   200,000  6 

200,000  to   500,000  3 

500,000  to  1,000,000  4 

1,000,000  to  5,000,000  2 


From  Table  No.  89  it  appears  that  out  of  202  samples  taken  directly 
from  farmers'  cans,  18  contained  milk  testing  from  one  million  to  five 
million  bacteria;  22  from  five  hundred  thousand  to  a  million,  and  47 
from  two  to  five  hundred  thousand.  When  one  considers  the  nearby 
source  of  supply  for  the  City  of  Rochester,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  ex- 
pect milk  to  arrive  in  the  city  containing  not  more  than  two  hundred 
thousand  bacteria,  if  sanitary  precautions  have  been  carried  out.  Con- 
sequently, at  least  87  of  the  samples  of  milk  out  of  the  202  contained 
numbers  of  bacteria  so  large  that  they  plainly  indicated  lack  of  proper 
sanitary  precautions. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  187 

This  is  further  indicated  by  the  samples  taken  from  the  mixing  tanks 
of  the  pasteurizing  plants.  Thirty-four  of  these  were  taken  and  31  con- 
tained bacteria  in  excess  of  two  hundred  thousand,  while  17  contained 
bacteria  from  one  to  five  million — indicating  very  unsanitary  milk.  The 
samples  taken  from  the  heaters  of  the  pasteurizers  were  14  in  number. 
Two  of  these  contained  bacteria  of  between  two  and  five  hundred  thou- 
sand, and  four  bacteria  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  thousand.  These  six 
samples  indicated  plainly  that  the  processes  of  heating  were  ineffective. 
The  failure  to  destroy  bacteria  in  the  milk  must  be  reported  as  due  not 
so  much  to  lack  of  proper  temperature  on  the  part  of  the  heating  appar- 
atus, for  as  the  temperature  seemed  to  be  sufficient,  the  only  remaining 
reason  for  these  large  number  of  bacteria  after  heating  must  be  imper- 
fect cleansing  and  sterilization  of  the  apparatus. 

Eighteen  samples  were  taken  from  the  holding  tanks.  Four  of  these 
contained  bacteria  between  fifty  and  two  hundred  thousand,  while  eight 
contained  bacteria  between  twenty-five  and  fifty  thousand.  These  12 
samples  all  show  plainly  that  the  process  of  pasteurization  was  ineffective, 
since  a  first-class  heating  and  holding  process  should  result  in  milk  which 
contains  not  more  than  ten  thousand  bacteria.  Since  the  temperatures  on 
most  of  these  machines  seemed  to  be  sufficiently  high,  the  chief  reason 
for  the  large  number  of  bacteria  must  be  due  to  imperfect  processes  of 
washing  and  sterilization  of  the  pasteurizing  apparatus. 

The  22  samples  taken  from  the  cooling  apparatus  in  the  pasteurizing 
plants  show  the  same  indications  of  imperfections  in  the  pasteurizing 
processes. 

Passage  of  the  milk  from  the  cooler  does  not  indicate  any  marked 
increase  in  the  numbers  of  bacteria,  there  being  10  samples  containing 
bacteria  ranging  from  twenty-five  to  two  hundred  thousand,  which  corre- 
sponds rather  closely  with  the  bacteria  in  the  samples  for  the  holding 
process. 

Samples  of  milk  taken  from  bottle  filling  apparatus  were  12  in  all. 
Two  of  these  contained  bacteria  between  one  hundred  and  two  hundred 
thousand,  one  between  two  and  five  hundred  thousand,  and  one  between 
one  and  five  million. 

There  were  46  samples  taken  from  filled  bottles  after  all  processes 
were  complete.  Six  of  these  contained  from  one  to  two  hundred  thou- 
sand bacteria;  three  from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred  thousand,  and 
four  from  five  hundred  thousand  to  a  million,  and  two  from  one  million 
to  five  million,  making  in  all  15  samples  out  of  forty-six,  or  30%  of  the 
bottled  milk  samples  in  excess  of  one  hundred  thousand  bacteria.  All 
of  these  were  bottles  of  pasteurized  milk  and  the  large  numbers  of 
bacteria  in  them  plainly  indicate  unsanitary  conditions  in  the  washing 


188  MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 

and  sterilization  of  the  bottles  themselves,  as  well  as  the  apparatus  in  the 
pasteurizing  plants.  It  is  to  be  expected  that  a  first-class  pastuerizing 
process  will  produce  a  glass  bottle  of  milk  containing  no  more  than  ten 
thousand  bacteria  per  cc.  There  are  numerous  pasteurizing  plants  in 
other  cities  consistently  operating  in  this  way,  so  that  the  milk  sold  from 
the  delivery  wagons  contains  not  more  than  ten  thousand  bacteria  per  cc. 
It  must  be  said  that  the  pasteurizing  plants  of  the  City  of  Rochester  are 
not  controlled  by  bacterial  tests  made  either  by  the  dealers  themselves  or 
by  the  city  Department  of  Health.  The  failure  to  regularly  make  control 
tests  by  taking  samples  of  bacteria  from  these  pasteurizing  plants,  un- 
doubtedly prevents  both  the  dealers  and  the  Health  Department  from 
having  any  knowledge  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the  pasteurizing  processes. 
What  has  been  said  regarding  the  large  number  of  bacteria  in  the 
pasteurized  milk  in  Rochester  can  be  said  with  even  greater  emphasis 
concerning  the  bacteria  in  the  raw  milk  of  Rochester.  While  the  in- 
spectors did  not  take  samples  of  bottled  milk  from  the  raw  milk  dealers, 
yet  the  samples  taken  from  the  cans  of  raw  milk  at  the  railroad  platform 
plainly  indicate  what  the  character  of  the  raw  milk  in  bottles  must 
be.  Since  the  methods  of  handling  milk  by  the  raw  milk  dealers  do  not 
subtract  in  any  degree  from  the  numbers  of  bacteria  contained  in  the 
cans  received  at  the  railroad ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  all  of  the  processes 
of  handling  by  the  raw  milk  dealer  necessarily  add  considerable  numbers 
to  the  bacteria  contained  in  the  cans,  the  numbers  of  bacteria  in  the  raw 
milk  sold  in  bottles  will  be  just  as  large  and  in  many  cases  larger  than 
were  found  in  the  canned  milk  as  received  at  the  railroad  platforms. 

PASTEURIZATION 

Since  the  year  1900  when  Nathan  Strauss  stood  almost  alone  in 
openly  advocating  the  pasteurization  of  all  milk  as  a  measure  of  public 
safety,  there  has  been  a  steady  growth  of  sentiment  in  favor  of  pasteuriza- 
tion, so  that  now  the  majority  of  the  members  of  the  medical  profession 
who  formerly  opposed  this  measure  have  been  won  over  to  its  favor.  In 
like  manner,  practically  every  health  officer  of  every  large  city  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  as  well  as  in  Europe,  openly  advocates  pas- 
teurization. 

The  National  Commission  on  Milk  Standards,  chosen  by  the  New 
York  Milk  Committee  from  the  leading  public  health  authorities  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  in  1912  at  an  official  meeting  passed  the  fol- 
lowing resolution: 

"The  Commission  thinks  that  pasteurization  is  necessary  for  all  milk  at  all 
times,  excepting  certified  milk,  or  its  equivalent.  The  majority  of  the  commis- 
sioners voted  in  favor  of  the  pasteurization  of  all  milk,  including  certified.  Since 
this  was  not  unanimous,  the  Qommission  recommends  that  the  pasteurization  of 
certified  milk  be  optional." 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 


189 


As  a  result  of  this  sentiment,  all  large  milk  dealers  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada  have  installed  machines  for  pasteurizing  milk  and 
pasteurize  their  entire  supply,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  amount  of 
special  milk  at  high  prices,  such  as  certified  milk.  The  only  raw  milk 
sold  in  cities  and  towns  outside  of  the  small  quantity  of  certified  is  the 
raw  milk  bottled  by  small  milk  dealers  who  cannot  afford  to  install  pas- 
teurizing machinery. 

New  York  City  regulations  require  the  pasteurization  of  all  milk 
excepting  that  produced  from  dairies  having  cows  which  are  tuberculin 
tested,  employees  who  are  free  from  disease,  and  from  dairies  which 
carry  out  exceedingly  rigid  sanitary  precautions. 

In  Table  No.  90  is  a  list  of  18  cities  of  the  U.  S.  and  Canada  which 
have  passed  milk  regulations  of  their  own,  among  which  is  a  regulation 
requiring  the  pasteurization  of  all  milk  not  coming  from  cows  tuberculin 
tested,  and  otherwise  protected  against  infection.  It  will  be  noted  that 
the  total  population  of  these  cities  is  17,810,000,  the  total  milk  supply 
5,503,000  quarts,  and  the  total  quantity  pasteurized  is  5,351,000  quarts, 
which  is  over  97%. 

TABLE  NO.  90 
CITIES  HAVING  ORDINANCES  REQUIRING  PASTEURIZATION 


NAME  OF  CITY. 

• 

Population. 

•d 
tfo 

.ti  & 

c^J 
3:3 

£E 

Quantity 
pasteurized. 

V) 

JJ3 

^  rt 

<L> 

-rt^5 

g° 

Dealers  operating 
pasteurizer. 

Sacramento    Cal 

70,000 

24,000  qts. 

22,000  qts. 

12 

0 

Minneapolis    Minn  

400,000 

140,000     ' 

126,000    " 

50 

30 

Milwaukee    Wis    

500,000 

192,000     ' 

188,000    " 

42 

35 

Cincinnati    Ohio           

425,000 

120,000     ' 

120,000    " 

65 

65 

Akron     Ohio                             

190,000 

80,000     ' 

76,000    " 

24 

18 

Toronto    Can                                 .  .  . 

500,000 

192,000     ' 

192,000    " 

80 

80 

Indianapolis    Ind                             .  . 

310,000 

48,000     ' 

48,000    " 

40 

40 

San  Francisco    Cal 

500,000 

128,000    " 

120,000    " 

25 

12 

Spokane    Wash            

140,000 

28,000    " 

24,000    " 

4 

4 

Seattle    Wash                   

400,000 

84,000    " 

64,000    " 

51 

li> 

5t   Louis    M!o                        

750,000 

140,000    " 

104,000    " 

57 

3b 

Los  Angeles    Cal                   

650,000 

197,000    " 

188,000    " 

30 

13 

Philadelphia    Pa                      

1,800,000 

550,000    " 

533,000    " 

22b 

83 

Baltimore    Md     

675,000 

140,000    " 

136,000    " 

74 

37 

Detroit    Mich     

1,000,000 

340,000    " 

340,000    " 

38 

38 

3,000,000 

800,000    " 

790,000    " 

you 

26> 

1,000,000 

300,000    " 

300,000    " 

2bO 

2i>U 

New  York,  N.  Y  

5,500,000 

2,000,000    ' 

1,980,000    ( 

161 

43 

Total    

17,810,000 

5,503,000  qts. 

5,351,000  qts. 

1928 

1071 

190 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 


In  Table  No.  91  is  a  list  of  twelve  cities  in  the  U.  S.  and  Canada 
which  have  milk  regulations  not  positively  requiring  pasteurization,  but 
recognizing  and  denning  it.  This  tabulaton  shows  the  populaton,  the 
total  quantity  of  milk  and  the  total  quantity  of  milk  pasteurized.  From 
this  it  will  be  seen  that  in  these  twelve  cities  there  was  602,000  quarts  of 
milk  sold  daily,  420,373  of  which  was  pasteurized,  amounting  to  70%.  If 
we  compare  with  the  above  conditions,  conditions  in  the  City  of  Roch- 
ester, we  must  note  that  out  of  a  total  milk  supply  in  August  for 
Rochester  of  77,579  quarts  there  were  44,160  quarts  pasteurized,  which 
is  a  little  less  than  57%  of  the  total  supply. 

TABLE  NO  91 

CITIES  WHERE  PASTEURIZATION  IS  NOT  REQUIRED  BUT  IS 
RECOGNIZED  AND  DEFINED  BY  REGULATION 


u 

N 

•C 

c/5 

NAME  OF  CITY. 

§ 

"S-d 

o  <u 

t/3 

6  a 

bfl.N 

J5 

"3 

i.* 

-M*  rt 
*£  ft 

a 

"rt  <u 

ft 

CTJ  77n 

CTJ  *-H 

*j 

<D     ^ 

Q 

3  rn 

a 

as 

H  ° 

0  a 

Calgary    Alta 

67000 

16800 

16320 

2 

2 

Canton,  Ohio  

85000 

22000 

16800 

30 

4 

Rockford,  111  

75000 

18600 

13953 

20 

7 

Winnipeg    Can    

200  000 

57600 

36200 

104 

2 

New  Orleans   La    .    . 

400000 

64000 

28000 

200 

2 

Omaha    Neb 

240000 

79000 

19500 

128 

2 

Hamilton    Ont 

110000 

30000 

24000 

25 

10 

Toledo,  Ohio   

300  000 

50000 

30,000 

25 

5 

Columbus,   Ohio    

300  000 

60000 

48,000 

44 

14 

Washington,   DC  

475  000 

160  000 

155,000 

Duluth    Minn 

100  000 

18000 

13600 

90 

1 

2,352,000 

576,000 

400,373 

The  evidence  which  is  available  regarding  the  value  of  the  pasteuriza- 
tion of  milk  is  now  so  abundant  that  it  would  be  impossible  in  a  survey 
of  this  kind  to  more  than  hint  at  the  character  or  value  of  this  evidence. 
Almost  without  exception  every  prominent  health  officer  and  sanitary 
scientist  in  the  world  is  now  on  record  in  favor  of  pasteurization  of  public 
milk  supplies,  and  the  practice  has  become  established  not  only  by  the  in- 
dustry for  economic  reasons,  but  under  the  auspices  of  municipal  health 
departments  for  public  health  reasons. 

TESTIMONY  OF  DR.  W.  A.  EVANS 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  public  health  authorities  in  America 
is  Dr.  W.  A.  Evans  of  Chicago.  He  holds  the  position  of  health  editor 
of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  and  his  writings  in  this  paper  are  syndicated  in 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 191 

twenty  other  large  papers  in  America.  He  also  occupies  the  position 
of  Professor  of  Hygiene  and  Sanitary  Science  in  Northwestern  Univer- 
sity Medical  School.  He  was  Health  Commissioner  of  the  City  of 
Chicago  from  1907  to  1911  inclusive,  President  of  the  American  Public 
Health  Association,  1917,  is  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Chicago  Welfare  Society  which  operates  infant  milk  depots  in  Chicago, 
and  a  member  of  the  Medical  Advisory  Commission  of  the  Council  on 
National  Defence.  He  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  writers  and  lecturers 
on  public  health  in  this  country. 

DR.  EVANS  appeared  as  a  witness  at  a  public  hearing  held  in  the 
City  Hall,  Rochester,  October  7th,  1919.  His  testimony  in  part  was  as 
follows : 

Q.  During  your  period  of  official  connection  with  the  Department 
of  Health  in  Chicago  as  Health  Commissioner,  was  the  subject  of  the 
control  over  the  milk  supplies  of  the  City  of  Chicago  a  subject  which 
came  up  for  consideration? 

A.     It  was. 

Q.  Will  you  state  in  your  own  way  what  consideration  was  given 
to  the  subject  at  that  time,  and  what  you  did? 

A.  The  question  of  the  mortality  rate  amongst  infants  was  quite 
unsatisfactory,  and  it  was  one  of  the  first  things  to  which  I  gave  attention 
when  I  assumed  the  duties  of  the  office  in  1907.  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  milk  supply  was  the  most  important  factor  in  the  situation  and 
I  conducted  an  investigation  of  the  milk  supply  of  Chicago  and  of  other 
cities  throughout  the  country  with  a  view  of  determining  upon  a  policy 
for  the  control  of  the  milk  supply.  As  the  result  of  about  a  year's  study, 
we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  milk  supply  should  be  controlled  by 
tuberculin  testing  and  pasteurization,  and  so  in  July,  1908,  we  passed  the 
Chicago  ordinances  requiring  pasteurization,  which  ordinances  have 
served  as  the  basis  for  most  of  the  milk  ordinances  passed  by  municipali- 
ties since  that  time. 

Q.  So  far  as  you  know,  that  was  the  first  time  that  any  American 
city  passed  such  an  ordinance  ? 

A.  I  have  always  understood  so,  and  I  believe  it  to  be  a  fact,  that 
the  ordinance  passed  in  Chicago  in  1908  was  the  first  ordinance  certainly 
of  any  large  city,  or  city  of  importance,  requiring  pasteurization,  making 
pasteurization  compulsory. 

Q.  What  were  the  reasons  why  you  yourself  favored  the  passage  of 
such  an  ordinance  in  Chicago? 

A.  In  the  first  place,  it  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  no  other  way 
to  prevent  the  spread  of  milk-borne  contagion,  brought  into  the  city  where 
there  was  considerable  distance  between  the  point  of  production  of  milk 


192  MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE    CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

and  the  point  at  which  it  was  used.  It  might  be  possible  to  prevent  the 
spread  of  contagion  of  milk  in  a  community  where  milk  was  produced 
on  the  same  premises  where  it  was  consumed,  or  in  close  proximity 
thereto;  but  in  market  conditions  where  the  producer  was  out  of  range 
of  the  consumer,  no  other  way  of  preventing  the  spread  of  contagion  by 
milk  was  feasible.  That  was  my  conclusion  of  1908  when  the  ordinance 
was  introduced,  and  I  am  more  firmly  of  my  opinion  now  than  I  was. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  reason  to  believe  at  that  time  that  the  milk 
supply  was  any  worse  than  the  milk  supply  of  other  cities  ? 

A.  No,  I  had  rather  thought  that  we  had  a  better  average  milk 
supply  than  the  milk  supply  of  other  cities.  Since  1892,  the  city  of 
Chicago  has  always  had  milk  inspectors  and  laboratory  control  of  the 
milk  supply.  In  1904  the  city  inspection  service  was  supplemented  by  a 
country,  or  farm  inspection  service.  Since  1904,  Chicago  has  had  for 
the  control  of  its  milk  supply,  an  inspection  service  within  the  city  limits, 
laboratory  control,  and  a  country  or  farm  inspection  service.  All  three 
of  these  services  were  in  operation  in  1907  and  1908,  the  period  in  which 
I  was  investigating  the  question  and  arrived  at  the  conclusion  as  to  the 
proper  remedy. 

Q.  Then  you  did  not  consider  that  the  control  of  the  milk  supply 
by  the  use  of  city  inspectors  and  country  inspectors  and  laboratory  was 
sufficient  to  safeguard  the  milk  supply  for  Chicago? 

A.  I  did  not  then,  and  I  do  not  now.  I  am  very  emphatic  in  my 
opinion  on  that  point. 

Q.  Had  Chicago  any  time  before  or  since  the  period  you  mention, 
suffered  from  epidemics  of  disease  traceable  to  milk? 

A.  It  had  periodically.  Before  1907,  and  from  1907  to  about  1915, 
we  would  uncover  some  epidemic  of  some  kind  or  other,  in  which  it  was 
possible  to  positively  demonstrate  that  the  disease,  the  epidemic,  had  been 
spread  by  milk.  In  addition,  there  were  reports  of  other  instances  in 
which  we  believed  milk  to  be  responsible  for  these  diseases,  in  which  we 
were  not  able  to  furnish  convincing  proof.  It  was  our  belief,  but  we 
could  not  demonstrate  it.  Confirmation  of  the  validity  of  that  opinion 
is  had  in  the  fact  that  since  pasteurization  became  universal  in  1917, 
there  has  been  no  milk-borne  epidemic  in  that  city.  Furthermore,  the 
general  rate  amongst  certain  diseases  that  are  frequently  milk-borne,  has 
continuously  declined.  The  death  rate  in  Chicago  since  1915  from 
typhoid  fever  has  been  at  no  time  higher  than  1.07  per  100,000. 

^Q.     Is  that  a  very  low  rate  compared  with  the  rate  in  other  cities? 

A.  It  is  the  lowest  American  rate,  and  the  indications  are,  unless 
something  very  inopportune  should  happen  in  the  remaining  months  of 
1919,  that  the  rate  of  1919  will  be  much  the  lowest  rate  in  the  world. 
Not  all  of  that  is  due  to  the  pasteurization  of  the  milk.  The  water  supply 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  193 

is  purer  than  it  was  before;  the  disease  is  better  controlled;  but  one  of 
the  considerable  factors  is  the  fact  that  the  entire  milk  supply,  with  the 
exception  of  a  small  amount  of  milk  that  is  sent  in,  is  pasteurized  not 
.only  by  ordinance,  but  is  under  observation  of  inspectors  and  under 
laboratory  control.  As  I  have  just  stated,  the  Health  Commissioner 
makes  the  statement  that  the  number  of  milk-borne  epidemics  has  been 
decreasing,  almost  in  proportion  as  the  milk  supply  became  pasteurized, 
and  there  has  been  no  milk-borne  epidemic  of  any  kind  or  sort,  since  all 
of  the  milk  has  entered  the  city  going  through  the  pasteurizing  plant. 

Q.  Are  you  familiar  with  the  circumstances  surrounding  the 
epidemic  of  septic  sore  throat  that  occurred  in  Chicago  about  1911  or 
1912? 

A.     In  the  winter  of  1911  and  1912. 

Q.     Will  you  state  briefly  the  circumstances  of  that  epidemic? 

A.  The  epidemic  occurred  among  the  patrons  of  one  dairy  in  the 
greatest  part.  It  was  clear  as  the  result  of  the  investigation,  that  the 
epidemic  originated  among  the  patrons  of  one  dairy.  That  there  was 
connection  between  this  epidemic  of  sore  throat  and  the  milk  supply, 
there  was  no  question.  The  difference  of  opinion  arose  as  to  how  the 
infection  happened  to  occur. 

Q.  What  was  the  nature  of  this  disease  you  called  sore  throat; 
was  it  ordinary  sore  throat  ? 

A.  No,  it  is  a  disease  that  is  generally  known  as  septic  sore  throat. 
My  recollection  is  that  there  were  several  thousand  cases  that  were  re- 
ported as  cases  of  septic  sore  throat. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  whether  there  have  been  other  epidemics  of 
that  same  character  traced  to  milk  in  America? 

A.     Many  such. 

Q.     Large  epidemics  of  septic  sore  throat? 

A.  Large  epidemics  of  septic  sore  throat,  traced  to  infected  milk 
supply. 

Q.  But  you  do  not  think  that  if  the  milk  has  been  properly  pas- 
teurized it  is  possible  for  the  milk  to  carry  such  infection  ? 

A.     I  do  not. 

Q.     Do  you  think  pasteurization  destroys  the  infection? 

A.  I  do,  and  I  think  it  is  the  only  method  of  preventing  just  that 
accident.  There  is  but  one  practical  method  of  preventing  human  beings 
from  consuming  milk  containing  streptococci  and  that  is  by  pasteurizing 
the  milk,  or  otherwise  cooking  it. 

Q.  That  is,  you  feel  from  your  knowledge  and  experience  the  ex- 
amination of  cattle  by  veterinarians,  the  ordinary  physical  examination, 
is  not 'sufficiently  accurate  to  determine  whether  dairy  cows  are  infected 


194  MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 

with  this  germ  or  whether  they  have  udders  which  are  discharging  the 
bacteria  which  might  cause  this  disease? 

A.  I  would  say  so.  I  would  amplify  that  to  this  extent,  as  I  have 
just  said,  a  great  deal  has  been  written  on  the  subject,  many  studies  have 
been  made;  there  is  no  unanimity  of  opinion  on  it.  The  only  safeguard 
from  the  consumer's  standpoint  is  to  assume  that  there  is  no  clinical 
method  of  telling  whether  the  milk  that  comes  from  a  particular  cow 
contains  streptococci  or  not,  as  the  cow  passes  it,  as  it  is  milked.  A  health 
officer  in  my  judgment  in  the  present  state  of  the  case,  is  bound  to  pro- 
ceed upon  the  theory  that  there  is  no  practical  method  of  telling  which 
milk  contains  streptococci,  and  which  does  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  such  soreness  or  disease  in  cows'  udders 
is  fairly  common? 

A.     It  is. 

Q.  Do  you  look  upon  it  as  a  constant  menace  to  a  community,  the 
presence  of  streptococci  in  milk? 

A.     Yes,  I  do. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  the  marketing  of  raw  milk  in  a  community 
•carries  with  it  that  constant  threat? 

A.  I  do.  From  the  infection  of  cows  do  you  say ;  one  of  the  threats 
that  I  had  in  mind  in  advocating  the  ordinance  of  1908,  and  in  standing 
for  similar  procedure  for  all  cities  since  1908. 

Q.  You  have  been  advocating  pasteurization  for  all  other  cities 
since  1908? 

A.     I  have. 

Q.     Have  there  been  many  scarlet  fever  epidemics  traced  to  milk? 

A.  A  very  sad  number.  My  interest  in  the  subject  immediately 
arose  from  a  very  extensive,  most  extensive  epidemic  of  milk-borne  scar- 
let fever  occurring  in  Chicago — or  beginning  in  Chicago,  in  about 
February,  1907,  and  extending  until  about  May,  in  which  there  were 
many  thousand  cases  of  disease  and  in  which  the  disease  was  very 
definitely  traced  to  milk. 

Q.  Do  you  consider  the  observation  or  the  safeguards  which  can 
be  cast  around  the  employees  connected  with  dairy  farms  and  milk  dis- 
tribution by  any  medical  inspection,  or  inspection  by  milk  inspectors,  is 
sufficient  to  prevent  human  infection  from  getting  into  milk  ? 

A.  I  don't,  for  the  reason  that  most  of  the  infection,  certainly  of 
the  milk  supply,  is  done  by  people  who  are  not  clinically  sick.  That  is 
the  people  who  infect  the  milk  in  the  main  are  people  who  are  carriers', 
are  not  people  who  are  clinically  sick  of  the  disease  that  they  are  trans- 
mitting to  the  milk.  I  remember  particularly  one  family  in  the  southwest 
part  of  Chicago,  the  B.  family,  who  were  responsible  for  several  epi- 
demics in  my  administration,  and  in  a  succeeding  administration.  In  no 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  195 

instance  did  we  find  the  disease  typhoid  fever  being  imparted  to  the 
milk  by  people  who  were  sick.  There  were  carriers  in  this  family,  and 
these  carriers  were  infecting  the  milk.  The  same  thing  holds  true  of 
every  disease.  The  septic  sore  throat,  diphtheria  disease,  is  imparted,  or 
the  bacilli  are  imparted  to  the  milk  by  people  who  are  not  sick,  who  are 
clinically  well,  and  would  be  passed  as  well  by  any  inspectors  from  the 
Health  Department. 

Q.     Pasteurization  is  a  barrier  against  this  infection? 

A.     It  is;  commonly  speaking,  it  is  a  "Safety  First"  procedure. 

Q.  Will  the  numbers  of  bacteria  become  very  large  indeed  in  raw 
milk,  if  it  is  not  kept  very  cool? 

A.     Thousands  of  millions;  uncountable  numbers. 

Q.  What  is  the  effect  of  pasteurization  on  these  large  numbers  of 
bacteria  that  come  into  the  milk  from  contamination  with  dirt? 

A.  The  ordinance  in  Chicago  specifies  that  the  pasteurization  must 
kill  99%  of  all  the  bacteria  and  100%  of  what  ordinarily  are  referred  to 
as  the  disease  or  pathogenic  bacteria. 

Q.  You  look  upon  pasteurization  as  a  safeguard  for  infants  and 
children  ? 

A.     I  do. 

Q.  Now,  in  recommending  the  adoption  of  such  an  ordinance  for 
Chicago,  do  you  take  into  consideration  the  opinion  of  some  scientists 
and  medical  men  that  the  pasteurization  of  milk  may  damage  its  food 
value  ? 

A.     I  did. 

Q..    What  is  your  attitude  on  that? 

A.  That  was  a  question  that  I  investigated  very  thoroughly,  and 
went  around  to  many  different  cities  and  talked  with  health  officers  of 
those  cities  and  with  children's  specialists  practicing  therein.  I  also  con- 
ferred personally  and  by  letter  with  children's  specialists  in  Chcago  and 
in  many  parts  of  the  country.  The  prevailing  opinion  at  the  time  the  ordi- 
nance was  passed,  was  that  the  process  of  pasteurization  decreased  the 
food  value  of  milk;  decreased  perhaps  in  some  slight  measure  the  direct 
food  value,  but  harmed  milk  in  that  it  tended  to  increase  the  amount  of 
scurvy  and  rickets  said  to  be  produced  by  milk.  As  the  result  of  my 
investigation  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was  no  basis  for  that 
opinion  and  had  no  hesitation  in  so  advising  the  City  Council  of  Chicago 
and  the  people  through  the  public  press  and  otherwise.  There  has  been 
no  increase  in  scurvy  or  rickets  in  Chicago.  My  judgment  is  that  the 
process  of  pasteurization,  its  very  general  adoption  as  a  community  prob- 
lem makes  no  particular  difference  with  regard  to  scurvy.  I  am  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Executive  Committee  on  the  Medical  Board  of  the  Infant 
Welfare  Society  in  Chicago.  All  of  our  babies  that  are -not  breast  fed  are 


196 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

fed  pasteurized  milk  or  other  forms  of  milk  which  has  been  heated.  We 
hear  nothing  at  any  of  our  23  stations  about  increase  of  scurvy,  mild  or 
severe,  as  the  result  of  feeding  pasteurized  milk. 

Q.  Has  pasteurization  been  adopted  by  many  other  American  cities 
since  Chicago  adopted  it  ? 

A.     It  has. 

Q.  Has  pasteurization  been  followed  by  the  reduction  of  the  milk- 
borne  diseases  in  other  cities  as  well  as  in  Chicago? 

A.  It  has.  Another  of  the  arguments  used  was  that  it  put  a  prem- 
ium on  uncleanly  methods  in  the  dairy  farms  and  in  the  milk  depots  in 
the  city.  The  fact  that  people  spent  money  to  purify  milk,  that  fact  that 
these  large  establishments  were  constructed,  were  visible,  were  seeable, 
acted  as  an  educational  influence  on  the  farmers.  The  farms  and  the 
dairies  are  cleaner  now  than  they  were  before  that  ordinance,  and  in  my 
judgment  pasteurization  has  been  one  of  the  factors  in  bringing  that 
about ;  not  the  most  important,  but  one. 

Q.  Is  there  anything  that  the  health  officer  of  a  city  can  do  to 
prevent  the  pasteurization  being  used  as  a  substitute  for  sanitation  or  as 
a  substitute  for  cleanliness  ? 

A.  Oh,  yes.  In  the  first  place,  they  have  dairy  inspection  in  the 
country  and  dairy  inspection  in  the  city;  and  they  have  laboratory  con- 
trol. The  ordinances,  all  of  them  that  I  am  acquainted  with,  specify  that 
the  milk  before  pasteurization,  must  conform  to  certain  requirements, 
both  as  to  bacterial  count,  and  as  to  the  sanitation  of  the  place  where 
it  is  produced  and  marketed.  All  of  these  are  measures  to  prevent  the 
marketing  of  very  bad  milk  by  pasteurizing  it. 

Q.  You  think  that  an  ordinance  requiring  the  pasteurization  of 
milk  should  include  some  standards  for  the  milk  before  it  is  pasteurized  ? 

A.  I  do.  There  are  such  in  the  Chicago  ordinances;  I  think  in 
practically  all  of  the  ordinances  requiring  pasteurization;  all  that  I  have 
knowledge  of. 

Q.  That  is  to  say,  you  think  that  the  milk  has  to  qualify  as  to 
character  in  order  to  be  fit  for  pasteurization? 

A.     That  is  correct. 

Q.  Now,  in  Chicago,  do  the  inspectors  of  the  Health  Department 
go  into  the  pasteurizing  plants  in  order  to  see  whether  pasteurization  is 
properly  carried  out  ? 

A.  The  custom  in  Chicago  is  to  have  all  the  plans  for  pasteurizing 
plants  brought  into  the  department  to  be  passed  upon  there;  so  that  the 
plans  must  first  be  approved  of  by  the  department.  I  don't  think  that 
that  is  required  by  the  ordinances,  but  that  is  the  custom,  whether  it  is 
required  or  not. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  197 

Q.  Do  the  inspectors  take  samples  of  the  milk  before  it  is  pas- 
teurized ? 

A.  Before  its  pasteurization  and  after  pasteurization;  and  then  on 
occasions  they  take  it  at  other  steps  in  addition. 

Q.     Their  object  is  to  determine  the  efficiency  of  the  process? 

A.  The  ordinance  requires  that  the  apparatus  used  destroy  99% 
of  all  the  bacteria,  and  all  the  pathogenic  bacteria. 

Q.  Are  you  familiar,  Doctor,  with  the  opinion  of  other  experts  in 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  men  who  are  making  a  profession  of  public 
health  work,  on  this  same  subject? 

A.     I  am. 

Q.  You  said  you  were  a  member  of  the  Commission  on  Milk 
Standards,  New  York  City.  Does  that  Commission  in  your  opinion  con- 
tain men  who  are  qualified  to  pass  expert  judgment  on  such  a  subject 
as  this? 

A.  It  does;  I  think  so.  Its  personnel  was  very  carefully  selected. 
I  think  it  is  a  very  well  balanced  Commission. 

Q.     How  many  members  are  there  of  that  Commission? 

A.     The  membership  changes;  slightly  less  than  20. 

Q.     Were  you  the  first  chairman  of  that  Commission  ? 

A.     I  was. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  the  Commission  of  20  men  are  unanimous 
in  their  opinion  as  to  the  desirability  of  the  adoption  of  pasteurization 
by  cities  and  towns? 

A.  I  do.  The  question  has  been  voted  on  a  half  dozen  times  in 
one  way  or  another  since  1911.  There  is  absolute  unanimity  of  opinion 
as  to  the  desirability  of  pasteurizing  the  general  milk  supply  of  the  Com- 
munity. The  vote  on  that  question  is  always  unanimous.  We  have  up 
every  year,  the  question  of  the  advisability  of  obligatory  pasteurization 
at  all  times  of  certified  milk,  and  on  that  question  we  generally  vote  about 
half  and  half.  On  the  matter  of  pasteurizing  the  general  milk  supply 
the  vote  is  always  unanimous  and  has  been  since  about  1912. 

Q.  Do  you  consider  that  the  personnel  of  that  Commission  justifies 
the  conclusion  that  they  are  as  well  qualified  as  any  commission  that 
could  be  selected  to  pass  on  such  a  question  as  the  adoption  of  pasteuriza- 
tion by  municipalities  ? 

A.     My  opinion  is  that  it  is  the  best  opinion  available  in  America. 

Q.  You  don't  think  you  could  get  any  better  opinion  as  to  whether 
pasteurization  should  be  adopted? 

A.  My  judgment  is  that  it  is  the  best  that  can  be  had  anywhere  for 
that  matter — I  said  "America." 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  the  findings  of  that  Commission  have 
been  adopted  anywhere? 


198  MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

A.  Yes,  they  have  been  very  widely  adopted,  changed  as  to  details 
to  suit  local  communities ;  but  the  general  trend  of  their  conclusions  has 
been  the  basis  of  every  ordinance  that  has  been  passed,  that  I  know  of  in 
this  country  in  the  last  seven  or  eight  years. 

Q.  Who  are  the  prominent  authorities  in  the  country  who  oppose 
pasteurization;  are  there  any? 

A.     I  don't  think  of  any. 

Q.  Has  there  ever  been  any  opposition  to  pasteurization  in  your 
Commission  of  the  New  York  Milk  Committee? 

A.     Well  there  was  in  1911,  but  there  has  not  been  since  1911. 

Q.  Do  you  know  any  health  authority  in  the  country  who  has  op- 
posed pasteurization? 

A.  Well,  the  only  one  that  I  know  of  in  the  country  is  Dr.  Goler  of 
Rochester.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Commission  in  1911,  and  when  the 
proposition  to  endorse  pasteurization  was  up,  he  voted  against  it,  and 
everybody  else  voted  for  it;  and  my  recollection  is  that  there  were  22 
members  of  the  Commission  at  that  time,  and  the  vote  was  21  to  1 ;  and 
then  he  did  not  like  it ;  quit  and  went  home. 

Q.     Did  he  retire  from  the-  Commission  then  ? 

A.     I  so  understood. 

Q.     He  attended  no  other  meetings  ? 

A.  He  has  never  been  a  member  since,  and  I  understand  he  sent 
in  his  resignation  and  went  home. 

Q.     Do  you  believe  in  pasteurizing  certified  milk? 

A.  I  do.  I  voted  for  it.  I  mentioned  the  fact  that  we  voted  on  it  a 
great  many  years,  and  I  am  one  of  those  who  has  constantly  voted  for  it. 
I  voted  every  time  it  has  been  up.  Our  agreement  was  that  we  would 
not  abide  by  a  majority  vote  on  that  proposition;  that  we  would  not 
recommend  it  as  one  of  the  recomendations  of  the  Commission  on  Milk 
Standards  unless  there  was  an  overwhelming  opinion.  And,  therefore, 
as  I  said  a  moment  ago,  though  there  were  many  majority  votes  in  favor 
of  it,  we  have  never  recommended  it  as  a  compulsory  requirement. 

Q.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  milk  supply  is  the  most  important  problem 
before  the  people  of  any  food  problem? 

A.     The  most  important. 

Q.     Yes? 

A.     Oh,  it  is  90%  of  the  health  problem  of  the  food  question. 

Q.     And  it  is  the  most  difficult  problem  ? 

A.  All  other  foods  combined  do  not  make  up  more  than  ten  per  cent, 
of  the  problem. 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  199 

REPORT  OF  MEDICAL  OFFICER  OF  HEALTH  OF  THE 
CITY  OF  TORONTO,  CANADA. 

In  a  report  published  in  1915  by  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health  of 
the  City  of  Toronto  entitled,  "The  Safeguarding  of  Toronto's  Milk 
Supply,  with  Special  Reference  to  Pasteurization,"  there  is  contained  a 
most  concise  summary  of  the  more  important  facts  to  be  considered  in 
connection  with  the  pasteurization  of  milk.  After  pointing  out  the  great 
value  of  milk  as  a  food,  the  report  discusses  the  dangers  of  milk  briefly 
as  follows : 

"(1)     DANGERS  FROM  BOVINE  TUBERCULOSIS. 

The  total  number  of  tubercular  persons  examined  in  the  Research  Labora- 
tory of  New  York  City  relative  to  type  of  tubercle  bacilli  was  438;  and  of 
these,  32,  or  7Yz%,  had  tubercle  bacilli  of  the  bovine  type  (contracted  from  the 
cow). 

The  438  persons  were  divided  into  three  groups,  according  to  age: 
1st.     297  persons,  16  years  of  age  or  over,  among  whom  only  one,  or  less  than 

l/z  of  1%,  showed  bovine  tubercle  bacilli. 
2nd.     54  persons  between  5  and  16  years  of  age,  among  whom  9,  or  16^,  showed 

bovine  tubercle  bacilli. 
3rd.     84  children  under  5  years  of  age,  among  whom  22,  or  26H%,  showed 

bovine  bacilli. 

The  foregoing  cases,  with  the  addition  of  the  total  number  of  those  exam- 
ined by  other  investigators  (which  Dr.  Park  accepted  as  reliable  after  a  careful 
analysis),  total  1,038;  and  of  this  number  101,  or  9rti,  showed  tubercle  bacilli 
of  the  bovine  type.  If  the  1,038  cases  are  divided  into  three  groups  according 
to  age  we  have  the  following : 
1st.  686  persons,  16  years  of  age  or  older,  among  whom  9,  or  1%%,  showed 

bovine  tubercle  bacilli. 
2nd.     132  persons,  between  5  and  16  years  of  age,  among  whom  33,  or  25%, 

showed  bovine  tubercle  bacilli. 
3rd.     320  persons,  less  than  5  years,  among  whom  58,  or  26^%,  showed  bovine 

tubercle  bacilli. 

Dr.  Park  made  the  following  significant  statement  which  is  contained  in  a 
recent  annual  report  of  the  United  States  National  Association  for  the  Study 
and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis: 

'When  the  diagnoses  of  cases  entering  Mt.  Sinai  Hospital  and  the 
Babies'  Hospital  of  New  York,  were  examined,  it  was  found  that  the 
majority  of  cases  of  meningitis,  supposedly  due  to  the  meningo  coccus, 
were  really  tubercular  in  character.  Fifteen  per  cent  of  the  cases  of 
broncho-pneumonia  and  marasmus  were  also  found  to  be  cases  of  tuber- 
culosis.' " 

The  report  also  quotes  the  findings  of  such  leading  authorities  on 
tuberculosis  as  Dr.  Ravenel  of  the  University  of  Missouri;  Professor 
Sims  Woodhead  of  Cambridge  University,  England;  Professor  Delepine 
of  Manchester,  England;  Professor  Bang  of  Copenhagen;  and  sum- 
marizes their  statements  as  follows : 


200 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

"  The  uniformity  of  the  findings  of  all  these  investigators  is  inspiring  and 
convincing,  their  conclusions  being  that,  conservatively  estimated,  twenty- five 
per  cent,  of  all  cases  of  tuberculosis  under  16  years  of  age  is  of  the  bovine  type. 
It  is  apparent  then  that  tuberculosis,  as  contracted  from  cows  through  the 
medium  of  their  milk,  exists  in  children  to  a  degree  that  cannot  be  longer 
disregarded  by  Departments  of  Public  Health,  and  demands  immediate  action. 

To  attempt  to  remove  this  danger  of  bovine  tuberculosis  by  excluding  from 
dairy  herds  all  cattle  suffering  from  tuberculosis  would  mean  a  milk  famine, 
the  cost  would  be  prohibitive,  and  even  then  the  milk  would  not  be  safe  without 
pasteurization." 

The  report  then  refers  to  typhoid  fever,  scarlet  fever,  and  diphtheria, 
as  follows: 

"(2)     TYPHOID  FEVER. 

The  following  table  has  been  taken  from  a  pamphlet  recently  issued  by 
Dr.  Charles  E.  North,  Consulting  Sanitary  Expert,  and  Secretary  of  the  Com- 
mission on  Milk  Standards,  New  York  City* 

This  table  represents  a  few  only  of  the  317  outbreaks  of  typhoid  fever 
traced  to  raw  milk : 

Glasgow,    Scotland 500  cases  from  one  raw  milk  supply. 

Cologne,  Germany 270 

Port  Jervis,  N.  Y 59  " 

Springfield,  Mass 182  " 

Oakland,   Cal 262  " 

Montclair,  N.  J 107  " 

Stamford,  Conn 307 

These  would  have  been  prevented  by  pasteurizing  the  milk. 

(3)  SCARLET  FEVER. 

125  epidemics  of  scarlet  fever  traced  to  raw  milk  supply,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing are  a  few  examples : 

Buffalo,  N.  Y 57  cases  from  one  raw  milk  supply. 

Washington,  D.  C 33  " 

London,  England 284  "  "  "  " 

Beverley,  Mass 6  "  "  "  " 

Liverpool,  England 59  "  "  "  " 

Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y 45  "  "  "  " 

Boston,  Mass 195  " 

Pasteurization  is  the  only  means  by  which  this  danger  can  be  eliminated. 

(4)  DIPHTHERIA. 

51  epidemics  of  diphtheria  have  been  examined  of  which  the  following  are 
a  few  illustrations: 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y 12  cases  from  one  raw  m  Ik  supply. 

Los  Angeles,  Cal 35      "          "        " 

Wellsvale,  N.  Y 84      " 

Clinton,  Ohio 36      " 

Highpark,  Mass 69      " 

Warwick,  R.  1 64 

No  epidemics  have  thus  far  ever  been  traced  to  pasteurized  milk. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  201 

(5)     SEPTIC  SORE  THROAT. 

Considerable  interest  has  been  aroused  during  the  past  four  or  five  years 
as  the  result  of  a  high  mortality  due  to  septic  sore  throat.  Many  of  these  out- 
breaks have  been  traced  directly  to  the  milk  supply,  partially  through  contamina- 
tion by  the  handlers  of  the  milk,  who  were  affected  or  were  carriers,  and 
partially  through  an  organism  which  is  found  in  the  diseased  udder  of  the  cow. 
Six  hundred  cases  of  sore  throat  in  Stockholm  in  1908  were  traced  to  an  abscess 
in  the  udder  of  a  cow,  which  contained  the  same  organism  that  was  found  to  be 
responsible  for  the  sore  throat.  This  animal  was  one  of  a  herd  that  furnished 
milk  to  those  that  became  infected.  This  was  one  of  the  first  observations  made 
in  this  connection,  and  different  outbreaks  have  been  traced  to  this  source  since. 

A  very  exhaustive  study  was  given  to  the  outbreak  in  Boston  in  May,  1911, 
where  1,043  cases  were  traced  to  one  raw  milk  supply.  In  Chicago,  111.,  an  out- 
break of  10,000  cases  was  traced  to  one  raw  milk  supply;  in  Baltimore,  602 
cases;  and  in  Cortland-Homer,  N.  Y.,  669  cases.  This  disease  seems  to  attack 
adults  especially.  , 

Pasteurization  would  have  made  these  outbreaks  practically  impossible. 

It  was  on  these  findings,  together  with  the  information  already  in  the 
possession  of  the  Board  of  Health  of  New  York,  that  they  decided  to  pass  an 
ordinance  in  1912,  requiring  all  milk  not  coming  from  cattle  free  from  tuber- 
culosis, as  determined  by  the  tuberculin  test,  and  not  produced  under  conditions 
necessary  for  the  production  of  a  certified  milk,  to  be  scientifically  pasteurized. 
This  ordinance  was  not  rigidly  enforced  until  1914.  That  it  has  been  for  the 
past  year  rigidly  enforced  is  evident  from  the  following  extract  taken  from  the 
Weekly  Bulletin  of  the  Department  of  Health  of  New  York  City,  June  6,  1914 : 
'The  situation  regarding  compulsory  pasteurization  of  all  except  the 

highest  grade  of  milk  sold  in  this  city  is  extremely  satisfactory,  at  the 

present  time,  about  99%  of  the  city's  supply  being  efficiently  pasteurised. 

This  represents  an  enormous  improvement  over  conditions  a  year  ago,  and 

should  make  milk-borne  disease  a  rarity  in  this  city.' " 

The  author,  Dr.  Charles  J.  Hastings,  Health  Officer  of  Toronto, 
then  apologizes  for  presenting  further  arguments  in  favor  of  pasteuriza- 
tion by  saying : 

"In  all  advances  of  science  there  are  always  a  few  who  cannot  keep 
pace  with  advancement,  and  they  expect  others  to  wait  for  them.  It  is 
therefore  necessary  to  repeat  and  repeat  over  and  over  again. 

I  am  reminded  here  of  Lord  Cromer's  address  at  the  Annual  Confer- 
ence of  the  British  Research  Defence  Society  in  London  in  July,  1910, 
when  the  question  of  inoculation  of  animals  was  under  discussion,  in  which 
he  said: 

"It  seems  unfortunate  that  we  should  have  to  waste  time  on  prob- 
lems that  are  so  self-evident,  in  order  to  meet  the  objections  of  those 
who  value  the  life  of  a  guinea  pig  higher  than  that  of  a  baby." 
He  consoled  himself  by  quoting  the  statement  made  by  Mr.  Cobden  in 
the  British  House  of  Commons  when  endeavoring  to  bring  about  the  repeal 
of  the  Corn  Laws,  which  was  as  follows : 

'I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  only  way  to  get  an  idea 
into  the  heads  of  the  British  public  is  to  repeat  the  same  thing  over 
and  over  again  in  slightly  different  language.' 


202  MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

This  finds  a  fitting  application  in  our  present  educative  campaign  in 
the  necessity  for  pasteurization." 

(6)     EFFECTS  OF  PASTEURIZATION  ON  MILK 

"The  work  done  at  that  time  by  Schroeder  and  Cotton  in  connection  with 
the  experimental  stations  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  was  most  valuable 
and  has  frequently  been  quoted  since.  They  demonstrated  that  tubercular 
cattle  discharged  tuberculosis  germs  from  their  bowels  almost  constantly — at 
times  to  the  extent  of  tens  of  millions  per  day. 

In  demonstrating  the  efficiency  of  pasteurization,  so  far  as  the  tubercle 
bacillus  is  concerned,  they  inoculated  several  hundred  guinea  pigs  with  the  milk 
in  its  raw  state  from  these  tubercular  cattle.  Every  one  of  the  little  animals 
showed  general  tuberculosis.  Over  200  guinea  pigs  were  injected  with  milk 
from  the  same  cow  after  it  had  been  pasteurized  at  a  temperature  of  140  degrees 
for  thirty  minutes.  Not  one  of  these  developed  any  signs  of  tuberculosis." 

The  author  gives  the  names  of  numerous  other  authorities  who  have 
confirmed  this  work. 

He  then  submits  statements  from  numerous  authorities  regarding 
the  chemistry  of  milk  showing  that  the  temperatures  used  in  pasteuriza- 
tion do  not  damage  milk  in  any  way  or  change  its  chemical  condition. 
Among  other  statements  as  to  the  food  value  of  pasteurized  milk  is  the 
following : 

"In  a  recent  careful  study  carried  on  in  Washington  351  babies  fed  on  raw 
milk  gained  on  an  average  of  -.4030  oz.  a  day,  while  557  babies  fed  on  pasteur- 
ized milk  gained  on  an  average  of  .4077  oz.  One  hundred  and  ten  babies  were 
fed  for  part  of  the  time  on  pasteurized  milk.  During  the  raw  milk  period  they 
gained  on  an  average  of  .4312  oz.  and  during  the  pasteurized  milk  period  an 
average  of  .4607  oz.  Some  of  the  leading  authorities  in  England  and  United 
States  are  now  advocating  the  use  of  boiled  milk,  the  digestibility  of  which  one 
might  possibly  suspect  as  being  unfavorably  affected. 

Dr.  North  in  referring  to  the  digestibility  of  pasteurized  milk  gives  the 
following  practical  evidence : 

'Fortunately  New  York  City  has  the  past  three  years  carried  out 
a  gigantic  experiment  in  infant  feeding  at  its  fifty-five  (55)  municipal  milk 
depots,  where  babies  are  fed  the  year  round,  to  the  number  of  18,000  daily 
in  summer  and  16,000  daily  in  winter.  For  three  years  all  of  this  milk  has 
been  scientifically  pasteurized.  Records  have  shown  that  the  babies  have 
gained  weight;  have  kept  well;  have  shown  no  signs  of  rickets  or  scurvy, 
and  in  every  way  gave  evidence  that  pasteurized  milk  is  not  inferior  in  food 
value  or  digestibility  to  raw  milk. 

'  The  death  rate  among  infants  during  this  period  has  been  reduced 
from  125  per  thousand  to  94  per  thousand,  which  places  New  York  City 
in  the  lead  of  any  large  city  in  the  world  in  the  reduction  of  infant 
mortality.' 

Numerous  other  instances  could  be  quoted  of  the  unchanged  nutritive  value 
of  pasteurized  milk,  but  the  foregoing  are  more  than  sufficient  to  demonstrate 
this  fact. 

It  was  with  a  knowledge  of  these  facts  that  the  International  Congress  of 
Tuberculosis  held  in  Washington  in  1908,  unanimously  passed  a  resolution  that 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  203 

all  milk  not  coming  from  herds  shown  to  be  free  from  tuberculosis,  should  be 
scientifically  pasteurized.  The  National  Association  for  the  Prevention  of 
Tuberculosis,  the  Canadian  Association  for  the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  and 
the  Canadian  Medical  Association  subsequently  passed  similar  resolutions. 

It  was  with  a  knowledge  of  the  dangers  of  transmission  of  tuberculosis, 
together  with  the  dangers  of  the  transmission  of  other  communicable  diseases 
and  the  dangers  of  diarrhoeal  diseases  through  raw  market  milk,  that  prompted 
the  Committee  on  Milk  Standards,  and  subsequently,  the  American  Public 
Health  Association  and  the  American  Medical  Association,  as  well  as  the 
Association  of  State  and  Provincial  Health  Officers,  to  pass  a  resolution  that 
all  milk  not  coming  from  herds  free  from  tuberculosis,  as  demonstrated  by  the 
tuberculin  test,  and  not  obtained  under  conditions  corresponding  to  those 
required  for  the  production  of  certified  milk,  should  be  scientifically  pasteurized 
before  being  used  for  human  consumption. 

At  the  International  Pure  Milk  Congress  held  in  Brussels  in  1907,  the  use 
of  raw  milk  for  infant  feeding  was  officially  condemned  and  pasteurization 
advocated. 

It  was  with  a  knowledge  of  these  facts  that  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  for 
France  in  1912  had  legislation  passed  prohibiting  the  sale  of  any  milk  in  France 
that  had  not  been  properly  pasteurized.  The  Minister  of  Agriculture  had 
behind  him  in  this  move  a  solid  block  of  all  the  scientific  and  legislative  powers, 
including:  Professor  Bordeau,  of  the  College  of  France;  Professor  Metchni- 
koff  of  the  Pasteur  Institute;  the  President  of  France,  the  Deputies,  the  Sen- 
ators, the  Ministers,  the  Pasteur  Institute,  the  College  of  France,  and  the 
Medical  Faculty. 

Prof.  William  T.  Sedgwick  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology, 
and  President-elect  of  the  American  Public  Health  Association,  says:  'I  have 
long  been  a  believer  in  the  necessity  of  pasteurization  and  went  on  record  to 
this  effect  in  my  first  paper  on  milk  supply  and  public  health  in  1892,  reiterating 
the  same  views  in  Sanitary  Science  and  Public  Health  the  same  year.  The 
opinion  then  expressed  I  hold  substantially  in  the  same  form  and  for  the  same 
reasons  today.' 

Denmark,  the  country  that  practically  leads  the  world  in  dairying  and  in 
efforts  to  control  tuberculosis  amongst  cattle  and  hogs,  goes  so  far  as  to  require 
that  all  skimmed  milk  and  buttermilk  required  for  the  feeding  of  animals  must 
be  pasteurized,  and  also  all  cream  used  for  the  manufacturing  of  gutter  or  ice 
cream. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  advances  towards  the  more  general  control  and 
safeguarding  of  the  milk  supply  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  was  the 
appointment  of  the  Commission  on  Milk  Standards.  The  appointment  of  this 
Commission  was  the  direct  result  of  the  observations  of  the  New  York  Milk 
Committee,  that  there  was  great  incompleteness  and  lack  of  uniformity  in  the 
milk  standards,  milk  ordinances  and  rules  and  regulations  of  public  health 
authorities  throughout  the  country  for  the  control  of  public  health  supplies. 

In  the  report  issued  by  this  Committee,  regulations  of  standards  were  pub- 
lished to  govern  milk  supplies  in  the  various  municipalities  permitting  of  modi- 
fications to  meet  certain  local  conditions.  The  one  recommendation,  however, 
which  was  universal  was  that  all  milk  not  coming  from  tuberculin  tested  cattle 
and  procured  under  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  production  of  a  certified 
milk,  should  be  efficiently  pasteurized. 

As  has  been  recently  expressed  in  the  New  York  Medical  Record: 


204 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

'The  antiquated,  fetish-like  arguments  against  pasteurization,  like 
floating  corks,  keep  bobbing  above  the  surface ;  but  pasteurization  has  come 
to  stay,  and  its  success  in  everyday  practice,  year  after  year,  and  in  the 
case  of  thousands  upon  thousands,  yea,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  infants 
whose  lives  have  been  saved  by  it,  should  quiet  all  hostile  arguments.' " 

TESTIMONY  OF  MR.  J.  H.  LARSON 

MR.  J.  H.  LARSON,  Secretary  of  the  New  York  Milk  Committee, 
appeared  as  a  witness  for  the  Survey  at  a  hearing  held  in  the  City  Hall, 
Rochester,  on  September  16,  1919,  and  testified  on  the  subject  of  pas- 
teurization as  follows : 

Q.  Now,  Mr.  Larson,  your  work  as  Secretary  of  the  New  York 
Committe  has  made  it  necessary  for  you  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  gen- 
eral milk  problem  in  other  cities  of  the  United  States,  has  it  not  ? 

A.  We  very  often  receive  requests  for  co-operation  or  for  sug- 
gestions for  milk  control. 

Q.  But  in  a  general  way  do  you  make  it  your  business  to  keep 
posted  as  to  the  progress  in  milk  improvement  in  other  cities  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada  ? 

A.  We  make  it  a  business  to  take  an  interest  in  them.  We  do  not 
keep  an  actual  tabulation  of  facts. 

Q.  During  the  period  you  have  been  employed  by  the  Milk  Com- 
mittee do  you  know  whether  or  not  there  has  been  a  tendency  on  the 
part  of  cities  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  to  adopt  pasteurization  of 
milk? 

A.     Yes,  there  has  been. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  is  a  good  thing  for  any  city  to  make  pasteuriza- 
tion compulsory? 

A.     I  believe  it  is. 

Q.     You  believe  it  is? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     Do  you  think  that  it  adds  to  the  safety  of  milk  to  pasteurize  it? 

A.     Yes,  I  believe  it  does. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  raw  milk  is  not  sufficiently  safe  without  pas- 
teurization ? 

A.  Milk,  though  it  is  the  best  food  we  have,  is  also  the  best  medium 
we  have  for  carrying  germs  of  infectious  disease ;  bacteria  grow  in  milk, 
and  epidemics,  typhoid,  scarlet  fever,  sore  throat,  etc.,  all  have  been  milk- 
borne,  and  that  I  have  taken  a  part  in  investigating.  I  cannot  feel  that 
any  raw  milk  is  safe. 

Q.  Will  you  mention  one  epidemic  that  you  personally  have  in- 
vestigated which  makes  you  think  that  raw  milk  is  unsafe  ? 

A.     Well,  there  was  an  epidemic  at  Cortland,  New  York. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  205 

Q.     What  did  you  find  there  ? 

A.  This  was  an  epidemic  of  septic  sore  throat.  It  was  found  that 
the  infection  came  from  the  udders,  I  think,  of  two  cows.  Laboratory 
tests  revealed  this  infection ;  but  not  until,  I  believe,  there  were  upward 
of  600  cases. 

Q.     Six  hundred  cases  of  what? 

A.  Septic  sore  throat,  very  severe  cases.  We  had  twelve  deaths; 
one  banker  among  them,  a  prominent  citizen. 

Q.     Where  did  this  milk  come  from? 

A.     From  a  small  producer  outside  of  the  city. 

Q.     How  was  it  distributed? 

A.     I  am  not  positive  whether  it  was  distributed  loose  or  in  bottles. 

Q.     Was  it  distributed  by  the  producer? 

A.     I  believe  it  was ;  yes. 

Q.     Was  it  distributed  only  in  Cortland? 

A.     No,  it  was  distributed  also  in  Homer. 

Q.     In  the  town  of  Homer? 

A.     Yes,  two  miles  from  Cortland. 

Q.     Was  there  an  epidemic  there  also? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     At  the  same  time? 

A.     Yes,  and  same  cause. 

Q.  What  reason  had  you  to  believe  that  the  epidemic  was  due  to 
milk  distributed  by  this  farmer? 

A.  Because  it  was  in  the  herd  of  this  farmer  that  the  diseased 
udders  of  the  cows  were  found. 

Q.     Where  were  these  cases  found  among  the  customers? 

A.     On  the  milk  route  of  this  distributer. 

Q.     Almost  entirely  confined  to  those  people? 

A.  The  outbreak  of  the  epidemic  followed  his  routes;  there  were 
many  of  course,  contact  cases. 

Q.     But  most  of  the  cases — 

A.  Most  of  the  cases  were  on  this  route.  The  statistical  evidence 
pointed  absolutely  to  this  possible  source  of  infection.  After  that,  the 
problem  was  to  find  out  what  was  the  cause  of  this  infection  and  that 
was  done  as  I  said,  and  the  bacteria  found  in  those  udders  were  the 
same,  as  found  in  the  throats  of  the  people  who  had  this  disease. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  the  attitude  of  the  health  officers  and 
medical  men  of  that  town  was? 

A.  Yes.  This  was  raw  milk  and  raw  because  of  the  opposition  of 
the  medical  authorities  and  profession  of  the  municipality  to  the  pas- 
teurization of  milk  because  pasteurization  was  alleged  to  impair  its  food 


206 MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER 

value  as  well  as  to  make  it  unfit  for  the  delicate  digestive  organs  of 
infants. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  the  attitude  of  the  medical  profession  of 
that  city  was  changed  any  by  this  epidemic? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     You  think  they  changed  their  minds? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  You  think  the  medical  men  and  health  officer  now  favor  pas- 
teurization of  milk? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  after  this  epidemic  they  requested  or  asked 
whether  some  arrangement  could  not  be  made  for  pasteurizing  milk  for 
their  city? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Was  there  any  other  epidemic  or  disease  that  you  have  investi- 
gated, due  to  milk  ? 

A.  Up  until  two  years  ago  I  had  a  part  in  investigating,  I  have  per- 
haps for  a  period  of  four  years,  every  epidemic  in  New  York  State  that 
could  possibly  have  a  suspicion  of  being  a  milk-borne  epidemic.  I  had 
a  part  in  the  investigation  of  septic  sore  throat  in  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  I  think  in  1915. 

Q.  Will  you  describe  as  nearly  as  you  can  just  what  the  nature  of 
the  conditions  were  that  you  found  in  Poughkeepsie  ? 

A.     Do  you  mean  community  conditions? 

Q.     I  mean  the  character  of  the  epidemic  and  its  outbreak  ? 

A.  That  epidemic  in  Poughkeepsie  was  an  epidemic  that  came  out 
with  a  great  deal  of  violence.  The  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  officials 
was  that  it  was  a  rather  minor  epidemic  of  scarlet  fever.  I  think  the 
health  officer  had  as  many  as  eighty-two  cases  reported;  something  like 
that.  I  was  asked  to  help  on  a  field  survey  of  this  epidemic,  and  in  going 
over  the  field,  other  investigators  and  myself  found  I  think,  nearly  800 
cases  of  septic  sore  throat  and  scarlet  fever  in  Poughkeepsie  and  the 
surrounding  community. 

Q.  Describe  just  how  these  cases  were  divided  up  and  what  the 
evidence  was  that  you  secured  as  to  the  cause  of  the  epidemic? 

A.     What  do  you  mean  by  "division  ?" 

Q.  Please  describe  what  you  found  as  to  the  way  the  cases  were 
divided  geographically  and  what  evidence  you  found  as  to  the  cause  of 
the  epidemic? 

A.  The  first  cases,  or  as  it  turned  out  later,  the  first  case  was  found 
on  a  dairy  farm  near  Wappingers  Falls,  south  of  Poughkeepsie;  there 
was  a  small  group  of  cases  there. 

Q.     How  far  is  that  from  Poughkeepsie? 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  207 

A.  About  six  miles ;  another  group,  a  larger  group,  at  Poughkeepsie, 
and  another  group  at  the  New  York  State  Hospital,  which  is  four  or 
five  miles  north  of  Poughkeepsie.  In  tracing  the  original  cases,  it  was 
found  that  those  cases  had  onset — these  three  groups  of  cases  had  onset 
on  approximately  the  same  day.  The  Health  Officers  in  each  community 
were  looking  for  the  source  of  the  epidemic,  independently  of  the  Health 
Officer  of  any  other  community. 

Q.  Did  each  one  of  those  communities  think  they  were  having  their 
own  private  epidemic  ? 

A.     Yes,  and  were  busy  looking  for  some  manner  of  controlling  it. 

Q.  They  did  not  think  there  was  any  connection  between  the  three 
of  them? 

A.  No.  Finally  it  was  found  that  previous  to  the  onset  of  the 
cases  in  these  three  communities,  there  was  a  case  of  a  farm  hand  of 
one  of  the  dairy  farms  supplying  milk  in  the  creamery  at  Wappingers 
Falls.  This  milk  was  traced  to  the  consumers  of  Wappingers  Falls  and 
to  the  consumers  in  Poughkeepsie,  and  a  part  of  the  supply  went  up  to 
the  New  York  State  Hospital. 

Q.     That  is,  this  creamery  shipped  milk  to  those  three  places? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     Was  the  milk  pasteurized? 

A.  As  I  recall  it,  it  was  not  pasteurized,  or  it  was  a  case  of  the 
milk  being  imperfectly  pasteurized  through  the  breaking  down  of  the 
pasteurizing  machinery.  It  was  not  properly  pasteurized. 

Q.  It  was  supposed  to  be  pasteurized,  but  the  machinery  broke 
down? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     It  broke  down  at  the  wrong  time  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  It  broke  down  as  you  found  it,  just  at  the  time  when  scarlet 
fever  existed  on  this  farm  that  you  refer  to  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  the  people  and  Poughkeepsie  and  these 
other  communities  were  in  favor  of  pasteurizing  milk  before  that  time? 

A.     No,  they  were  not. 

Q.     They  were  opposed  to  it  ? 

A.     They  were  strongly  opposed  to  it. 

Q.     Do  you  know  anything  about  their  attitude  since  the  epidemic? 

A.  Their  attitude  towards  pasteurization  was  changed.  Their  at- 
titude towards  reporting  communicable  diseases  was  changed  and  toward 
their  old  health  administration  has  changed;  they  now  have  a  substitute 
one. 


208  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

Q.  Have  you  seen  the  records  of  outbreaks  of  infectious  diseases 
in  other  cities,  in  other  countries  due  to  raw  milk? 

A.     Yes,  I  have  seen  records  of  those. 

Q.     You  have  a  list  compiled,  have  you? 

A.     Not  with  me. 

Q.     But  you  have  seen  the  records  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  And  it  is  on  those  records  that  you  believe  milk  should  be  pas- 
teurized ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     In  order  to  prevent  those  outbreaks  ? 

A.  No  epidemic  has  ever  been  traced  to  milk  that  was  properly  pas- 
teurized. Any  number  of  epidemics  have  been  traced  to  milk  that  was 
raw  or  improperly  pasteurized. 

MR.  FRANK  E.  GANNETT,  who  appeared  as  a  witness  at  a  public 
hearing,  held  at  the  City  Hall,  Rochester,  on  July  23,  1919,  gave  the  fol- 
lowing statement : 

I  was  much  impressed  too  by  Nathan  Straus'  book,  "Disease  in  Milk, 
the  Remedy,  Pasteurization/  written  by  his  wife.  And  this  book  makes 
a  very  clear  case  out  of  his  long  experience  in  New  York  City  Milk 
Stations ;  I  believe,  it  extended  over  a  period  of  twenty  years,  in  which 
he  reiterates  again  and  again  and  again  that  the  city's  milk  supply  should 
be  pasteurized  in  order  to  insure  purity.  And  in  the  way  of  pasteuriza- 
tion I  thought  Rochester  was  far  behind;  in  fact,  in  this  book  he  gives 
a  table  showing  that  in  New  York  City  the  pasteurization  of  the  supply 
is  95%,  while  Rochester  he  gives  only  as  20%. 

I  think  if  the  pasteurization  was  carried  on  in  one  or  two  or  three 
central  plants  it  might  be  done  cheaper  than  in  a  dozen  or  so  plants; 
and  what  would  be  a  further  advantage,  the  city  could  see  that  the  pas- 
teurization was  properly  done.  This  is  just  as  essential  as  to  have  it 
pasteurized.  I  do  not  know  that  we  have  any  protection  now,  or  any 
guarantee,  that  the  milk  sold  is  pasteurized  except  the  reputation  of  the 
dealer  that  handles  it.  We  know  that  certain  concerns  are  reliable  and 
we  depend  upon  them. 

DR.  JOHN  R.  WILLIAMS  of  Rochester,  appeared  as  a  witness  for  the 
Survey  at  a  hearing  held  in  the  City  Hall,  August  13,  1919,  and  testified 
as  follows: 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  the  milk  delivered  by  the  small  dealers  is  as 
safe  as  the  milk  delivered  by  the  large  dealers  ? 

A.     I  do  not. 

Q.     You  do  not,  why  not  ? 

A.     Well,  I  base  my  answer  on  my  personal  observations  that  I  do 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF    ROCHESTER  209 

not  think  the  small  dealer  exercises  the  precautions  that  he  should  in  the 
handling  of  milk. 

Q.     What  precautions  do  you  refer  to  ? 

A.  Well,  I  do  not  think  they  adequately  wash  and  sterilize  their 
bottles.  I  have  caught  small  dealers  on  the  street  filling  bottles  out  of 
cans  and  then  taking  them  into  the  homes. 

Q.  Well,  what  is  your  opinion  regarding  the  safety  of  the  raw  milk 
handled  by  the  small  .dealer,  even  if  he  should  properly  sterilize  the  bottles, 
do  you  think  that  milk  is  safe  to  use? 

A.     I  think  not.     We  proved  that  in  one  investigation. 

Q.     How  did  you  prove  it  ? 

A.  I  am  sorry  I  did  not  bring  that  with  me,  notwithstanding,  I 
think  I  can  tell  you  in  part.  I  was  called  one  time  to  se,e  a  man  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  city;  he  was  taken  ill  in  a  strange  manner.  To  make 
a  long  story  short,  .he  was  taken  ill,  very  acutely  ill,  with  the  disease  we 
could  not  recognize  at  the  time.  We  made  all  sorts  of  examinations  of 
him  and  many  physicians  were  called  into  consultation  and  were  not  able 
to  recognize  the  nature  of  his  illness.  In  about  three  days  another  mem- 
ber of  the  family  was  taken  ill  in  the  same  way.  These  two  patients 
represented  a  condition  which  resembled  typhoid  fever.  That  is  a  dis- 
ease that  never  had  been  discovered  in  this  part  of. the  country.  We 
thought  we  were  dealing  with  typhus  fever  and  we  sent  to  Washington 
with  the  approval  of  the  Health  Officer,  arid  an  expert  was  sent  up  here 
to  assist  in  this  investigation,  Dr.  Joseph  Cole  Parker,  a  bacteriologist  of 
international  reputation.  With  his  assistance,  or  in  fact,  before  he  ar- 
rived, we  determined  the  nature  of  this  sickness.  In  the  meantime,  two 
other  members  of  the  family  were  taken  sick.  We  had  determined  by 
this  time  that  these  were  a  very  peculiar  type  of  typhoid  fever.  These 
patients  were  covered  with  a  rash  which  closely  resembled  measles;  they 
were  covered  from  head  to  foot.  While  we  isolated  the  organism  from 
their  bodies  which  made  them  sick,  it  did  not  re-act  to  the  usual  typhoid 
tests,  nor  did  it  check  up  with  other  strains  of  typhoid  organisms  after 
the  manner  employed  in  typhoid  diseases  usually.  The  husband  was 
sick  with  this  disease  for  more  than  six  weeks;  the  wife  was  sick,  acutely 
ill,  for  eighty-three  days  and  two  other  members  of  the  family  were 
sick  for  a  shorter  period  of  time.  This  man  had  a  little  tailor  shop;  it 
was  necessary  for  him  to  employ  all  this  time  a  physician ;  he  had  several ; 
some  of  them  he  did  not  have  to  pay;  he  had  to  pay  a  very  considerable 
physician's  bill;  but  not  for  these  investigations  altogether.  I  estimated 
that — well,  after  the  discovery  that  these  people  had  typhoid  fever,  we  set 
out  to  determine  where  it  came  from,  and  we  found  this  man  got  his 
milk  from  a  small  milk  dealer  and  the  milk  came  from  a  farm  out  in 
Walworth,  so  I  went  out  there  and  took  paraphernalia  with  me  and  with 


210  MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

the  co-operation  of  the  Health  Officer  there,  and  here  I  got  samples  of 
blood,  stool  and  urine  from  the  farmer  on  this  milk  farm  and  from  his 
daughter.  Both  of  them  gave  a  history  of  being  sick ;  the  father  had  had 
stomach  trouble  for  several  months  previous,  it  was  so  diagnosed,  and 
the  daughter  had  just  rallied  from  an  attack  of  pneumonia.  Both  of  these 
people  were  just  alive  with  typhoid  germs  and  this  same  peculiar  strain. 
We  brought  these  samples  back  to  Rochester  and  established  the  fact  that 
those  two  organisms  were  identical.  I  made  a  note  of  the  location  of 
cow  barns  and  the  privy  house ;  the  privy  was  mid  way  between  the  cow 
barn  and  the  kitchen,  and  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  there  could 
be  no  question  but  what  the  filthiness  of  this  farmer  and  the  disease  were 
connected.  I  made  an  estimate  of  the  expense  involved  at  the  time  to 
this  little  tailor's  family  and  the  other  expense  involved,  and  there  was  a 
loss  of  at  least  four  thousand  dollars  in  that  one  instance,  doctor  bills, 
nurse  bills  and  so  on. 

Q.  Do  you  consider  that  there  is  a  common  danger  of  that  kind 
from  raw  milk  delivered  ? 

A.     I  do. 

Q.     By  small  dealers? 

A.     By  all  dealers,  large  and  small. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  Rochester  is  exposed  to  such  dangers  through 
the  raw  milk  it  receives? 

A.     I  do. 

Q.     Does  that  include  other  diseases  besides  typhoid? 

A.     Yes,  other  diseases. 

Q.     What  do  you  think  ought  to  be  done  to  make  that  milk  safe? 

A.     Well,  I  pasteurize  the  milk  in  my  home  before  I  use  it. 

Q.  Do  you  recommend  that  all  citizens  of  Rochester  should  pas- 
teurize the  milk  in  their  homes? 

A.  I  do,  at  the  present  time,  because  there  is  no  regulation  requiring 
its  being  pasteurized. 

Q.  Would  you  be  in  favor  of  a  regulation  requiring  that  it  should 
be  properly  pasteurized  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     By  the  dealer? 

A.     Yes,  under  municipal  supervision. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  it  would  lead  to  the  advantage  of  the  citizens 
of  Rochester  from  a  public  health  standpoint,  if  Rochester  had  a  regula- 
tion requiring  the  pasteurization  of  all  its  milk  ? 

A.     I  do. 

Q.  Do  you  know  approximately  how  much  of  the  milk  supply  of 
Rochester  is  pasteurized  at  present  ? 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 211 

A.     I  do  not. 

Q.     You  know  that  Rochester  has  no  such  regulations  ? 

A.     Yes.    I  know  that  the  Health  Officer  is  opposed  to  that. 

Q.  Do  you  think  the  advantages  of  pasteurized  milk  are  greater 
than  the  disadvantages? 

A.  I  do  not  know  any  disadvantages.  I  do  not  know  any  patent 
disadvantages.  There  are  alleged  disadvantages,  but  I  do  not  know  of 
any  real  objection  to  it. 

Q.  Getting  back  to  pasteurization.  The  pasteurization  of  milk  is 
now  absolutely  under  the  control  and  supervision  of  the  municipality,  is 
it  not,  in  those  plants  that  do  pasteurize? 

A.     Theoretically  it  is ;  but  practically  I  do  not  think  so. 

Q.  Do  they  not  maintain  their  heat,  uniform  heat,  and  is  not  that 
evidenced  by  automatic  records  in  these  plants  that  have  to  be  turned  into 
the  Health  Bureau? 

A.  I  have  no  confidence  in  the  way  it  is  done;  the  Health  Officer 
is  not  in  sympathy  with  it.  I  would  not  say  this,  but  I  do  not  believe  that 
the  Health  Officer  pushes  the  matter.  I  do  not  think  the  thing  is  regu- 
lated or  controlled  the  way  it  should  be. 

Q.     He  is  not  in  sympathy  with  pasteurization  at  all  ? 

A.     No. 

CERTIFIED  MILK  COMPARED  WITH  PASTEURIZED  MILK 

This  testimony  was  given  by  Dr.  Henry  H.  Covell  of  Rochester, 
Secretary  of  the  Monroe  County  Medical  Milk  Commission,  who  ap- 
peared as  a  witness  at  a  public  hearing  held  in  the  City  Hall,  July  23, 
1919.  A  part  of  his  testimony  was  as  follows: 

Q.     You  are  Secretary  of  the  Monroe  County  Milk  Commission? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  What  are  the  duties  and  objects  of  the  Monroe  County  Milk 
Commission  ? 

A.  This  Commission,  appointed  by  the  Monroe  County  Medical 
Association,  has  to  do  with  the  regulation  and  control  of  what  is  known 
as  certified  milk. 

Q.     Who  are  the  other  members  of  the  Commission  now? 

A.  Dr.  J.  W.  McGill  is  the  President  of  the  Commission,  and  Dr. 
E.  G.  Nugent  is  the  Treasurer.  Other  members  of  the  Commission  are 
Drs.  J.  R.  Culkin,  S.  W.  Little,  Norris  G.  Orchard.  There  may  be  one  or 
two  more  I  do  not  recall  at  the  present  time. 

Q.  You  spoke  of  some  one  being  Treasurer.  Does  this  Commis- 
sion have  funds? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     Where  does  it  get  them  ? 


212       MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER 

A.     There  is  a  small  charge  from  the  producers  for  certifying. 

Q.     What  does  the  Commission  do  with  its  funds  ? 

A.  Well,  largely  meets  small  matters  of  expense  that  they  have ;  for 
instance,  we  pay  the  bacteriologist  a  small  fee  for  his  work. 

Q.     For  examinations? 

A.  For  examinations  of  milk.  There  are  small  matters  of  book- 
keeping— all  outside.  Largely  questions  of  that  sort — no  salaries  to  any- 
body outside  of  the  bacteriologist.  If  the  report  from  the  bacteriologist 
indicates  conditions  that  are  not  satisfactory  to  the  Commission,  I,  or  the 
members  of  the  Commission  as  well,  get  in  touch  with  the  producers,  or 
visit  the  farms  where  the  milk  is  produced  and  try  to  locate  the  difficulty. 

Q.  Now,  the  bacteriologist  examines  this  milk  for  what  purpose? 
What  is  the  character  of  the  examination  ? 

A.  He  determines  the  number  of  bacteria  per  cubic,  centimeter; 
also  the  percentage  of  fat  content ;  also,  I  suppose  you  might  say,  an 
ocular  examination  to  determine  whether  or  not  visible  dirt  is  present. 
Possibly,  sometimes  the  temperature  of  the  milk  at  the  time  of  the  ex- 
amination may  be  taken,  but  those  four  things  are  the  main  divisions  of 
his  examination. 

O.     These  samples  are  furnished  by  dealers  to  the  bacteriologist? 

A.  Through  the  medium  of  the  distributer.  I  might  say  that  among 
other  things,  the  requirement  is  that  the  examination  of  milk  to  con- 
form with  these  requirements,  shall  indicate  a  bacterial  content  of  not 
to  exceed  ten  thousand  per  cubic  centimeter. 

Q.  How  many  farms  produce  certified  milk  to  the  City  of 
Rochester  ? 

A.     Four  at  the  present  time. 

Q.     Does  any  veterinary  make  an  examination  of  the  herds? 

A.  Twice  a  year  we  have  the  cattle  examined  for  tuberculosis  and 
incidentally  for  other  conditions  that  may  appear.  There  is  a  vast  differ- 
ence betwen  the  production  and  handling  of  certified  milk,  and  the  pro- 
duction and  handling  of  the  ordinary  grade  of  milk. 

Q.  Your  certification  of  milk  means  then  that  the  premises,  cattle 
and  conditions  generally  under  which  it  is  produced,  are  made  the  sub- 
ject of  examination  by  your  Commission  and  that  your  Commission  be- 
lieves it  to  be  safe  for  consumption  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Are  the  records  of  the  tuberculin  test  that  have  been  made  on 
certified  herds  of  Rochester  kept  on  file  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     Do  they  find  re-actors? 

A.     Sometimes. 

Q.     Even  after  all  their  precautions  have  been  carried  out? 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  213 

A.     Yes. 

O.  So  that  even  after  every  precaution  has  been  exercised,  there  is 
always  a  menace  from  cattle  diseases  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     Do  cows  frequently  have  sore  udders  ? 

A.     In  my  limited  experience  I  should  say  "Yes"  to  that. 

Q.  Is  it  not  true  that  it  is  necessary  to  frequently  examine  a  dairy 
herd  in  order  to  detect  the  presence  of  sore  udders  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Would  you  look  upon  sore  throats  among  dairy  employees  as  a 
menace  to  the  milk? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Does  your  examination  require  that  these  employees  should  be 
healthy  with  reference  to  throat  health  or  disease  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Well,  what  is  your  view  regarding  raw  milk  over  which  these 
precautions  are  not  exercised ;  do  you  think  that  the  milk  is  less  safe  than 
the  certified  milk? 

A.     I  think  it  less  safe. 

Q.     Do  you  think  it  is  dangerous  ? 

A.     The  possibilities  are  very  great. 

Q.     Do  you  think  the  danger  from  cattle  disease  is  very  great? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  do  you  think  that  cattle  that  produce  the  raw  milk  supply 
of  Rochester  are  examined  frequently  enough  to  protect  the  raw  milk 
supply  from  cattle  diseases? 

A.  As  a  consumer  of  grade  milk,  or  milk  that  is  not  certified,  I 
must  say  that  sometimes  I  have  felt  a  little  bit  uneasy  about  the  quality 
of  milk  that  I  have  been  receiving. 

Q.  Well,  you  look  upon  these  precautions  you  speak  of  as  necessary, 
you  say,  to  safeguard  raw  milk  ? 

A.     I  think  so. 

Q.  Then,  where  they  are  not  exercised,  the  raw  milk  is  not  suffi- 
ciently well  safeguarded  to  be  consumed  in  a  raw  condition? 

A.     I  do  not  know  exactly  what  to  say  in  answer  to  that. 

Q.  Well,  would  you  say  that  the  public  health  was  not  properly 
safeguarded  in  a  raw  milk  supply  over  which  these  precautions  were  not 
exercised  ? 

A.     In  a  general  way,  possibly  so. 

Q.  You  think  there  is  danger  in  the  fact  that  the  raw  milk  is  not 
safeguarded  as  well  as  certified  milk  ? 

A.     I  guess  I  can  answer  that  question  in  the  affirmative. 


214  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

Q.  Under  those  circumstances  would  you  recommend  the  raw  milk 
which  does  not  receive  such  safeguards  as  certified  milk,  had  better  be 
pasteurized  ? 

A.     I  think  so. 

Q.     You  look  upon  pasteurization  as  a  proper  public  health  measure  ? 

A.     I  am  in  favor  of  it. 

Q.  To  be  applied  to  raw  milk  which  is  not  protected  as  well  as 
certified  ? 

A.     Yes: 

Q.  Would  you  recommend  that  all  the  children  of  Rochester  should 
use  certified  milk? 

A.  Theoretically,  I  suppose  "Yes";  but  practically,  it  is  too  ex- 
pensive. 

Q.  Well,  what  would  you  prescribe  to  the  children  of  Rochester 
who  cannot  afford  certified  milk? 

A.  Apparently  the  only  thing  you  could  say  would  be  "pasteurized 
milk." 

Q.     You  would  not  prescribe  raw  milk? 

A.     I  think  not. 

Q.     You  would  prescribe  pasteurized? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     Do  you  think  it  would  make  the  raw  milk  safer  to  pasteurize  il  ? 

A.     I  think  it  does. 

Q.  Is  that  of  sufficient  advantage  to  a  community  to  justify  a 
regulation  requiring  it? 

A.     I  can  imagine  a  situation  might  arise  when  that  would  be  so. 

Q.  Would  it  be  a  constant  safeguard  that  would  be  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  city? 

A.     I  believe  so. 

Q.  There  is  no  reason  why  reasonable  sanitary  precautions  cannot 
be  enforced  in  addition  to  pasteurization  ? 

A.     Not  that  I  know  of. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  215 

TESTIMONY  OF  DR.  GEORGE  W.  GOLER 

The  attitude  of  the  Health  Officer  of  Rochester,  Dr.  George  W. 
Goler,  on  the  subject  of  pasteurization  is  indicated  in  his  testimony  de- 
livered as  a  witness  at  one  of  the  public  hearings  held  in  the  City  Hall 
on  July  16,  1919,  which  was,  in  part,  as  follows: 

"Then  came  the  time  of  pasteurization.  In  our  milk  stations  we 
tried  to  pasteurize  the  milk  for  a  little  while  and  then  gave  it  up  in 
disgust.  We  found  that  the  milk  that  came  to  us  was  so  dirty  that  we 
believed,  by  our  advocacy  of  pasteurization,  we  were  simply  aiding  the 
milk  man  in  bringing  into  the  city  dirty  milk  and  puttng  off  the  day  to  be 
hoped  for,  when  milk  would  be  sold  so  comparatively  clean  that  it  might 
be  pasteurized.  People  ought  to  know  in  regard  to  the  milk  of  Roch- 
ester, if  there  is  only  two  grains  in  a  quart  of  milk,  that  every  year  the 
population  of  Rochester  are  drinking  three  tons  of  liquid  manure.  We 
say  that  three  tons  of  manure  ought  to  be  an  absolute  limit.  We  want 
the  men  to  keep  it  on  the  farm.  We  don't  want  it  in  the  milk.  Without 
going  into  detail,  that  is  the  main  reason  why,  so  far  as  I  personally  am 
concerned,  that  I  have  always  fought  pasteurization,  because  pasteuriza- 
tion to  me  was  very  similar  to  that  plan  of  putting  a  little  formaldehyde 
in  the  milk  to  enable  the  milk  man  to  bring  it  into  town  without  spoiling, 
or  that  he  might  sell  it  without  purifying  it." 

O.  You  spoke  about  welfare  stations.  Tell  us  about  those  welfare 
stations. 

A.  In  those  stations  in  the  first  years,  we  pasteurized  milk,  as  I 
say,  but  we  gradually  gave  that  up,  because  we  felt  that  the  milk  was  so 
dirty,  that  is,  the  general  milk  supply  was  so  dirty — we  could  get  clean 
milk  in  the  city — if  we  gave  to  the  people  of  Rochester  the  impress  of 
our  opinion  that  pasteurization  was  a  desirable  thing,  we  should  then 
simply  put  off  the  day  when  milk  would  be  clean  enough  to  be  favorably 
influenced  by  that  kind  of  pasteurization,  which  should  not  be  pasteuriza- 
tion for  the  sake  of  the  milk  man ;  but  pasteurization  for  the  sake  of  the 
family. 

Q.     Doctor,  what  is  the  object  of  pasteurizing  milk? 

A.  There  are  several  objects.  The  first  object  of  pasteurizing  milk 
is  to  make  the  milk  so  it  won't  spoil,*  and  so  the  milk  can  sell.  It  is  a 
milk  man's  process.  The  next  object  to  pasteurize  milk  is  to  prevent  dis- 
semination of  infectious  diseases,  typhoid  particularly.  And  still  an- 
other object  is  to  prevent  the  multiplication  of  certain  organisms  which 
no  doubt  further  and  aid  in  the  production  of  acute  bowel  diseases  of 
children.  Those  are  the  general  objects.  But  the  first  object  of  pas- 
teurizing— you  don't  want  to  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  pasteurizing 


216  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

of  milk  was  first  for  the  purpose  of  making  bad  milk  keep  so  the  milk- 
man could  sell  it. 

Q.  The  pasteurization  of  milk  consists  in  heating  to  145  Fahrenheit 
and  keeping  it  there. 

A.  I  never  attempted  to  develop  it;  but  it  is  a  sort  of  process— 
anything  to  heat  the  milk  up  to  a  temperature  so  the  thing  would  keep 
in  the  beginning. 

Q.     But  there  is  a  standard  temperature  for  pasteurization? 

A.     There  is  a  standard  temperature  for  pasteurization. 

Q.     145  or  150  degrees  which  you  have  quoted? 

A.  And  that  process  of  pasteurization  carried  out  as  a  supple- 
mentary measure  is  of  value.  The  sanitary  safeguards  thrown  around 
milk  is  a  highly  desirable  procedure. 

Q.     Now,  there  are  certain  organisms  that  will  not  kill? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  But  the  organisms  which  develop  infectious  diseases  like  typhoid 
and  septic  sore  throat  and  scarlet  fever,  it  will  kill  if  it  is  raised  to  that 
heat? 

A.  We  don't  know  anything  about  scarlet  fever,  so  we  don't  know 
whether  it  will  kill  scarlet  fever  or  not.  It  does  affect  typhoid,  of  course. 

Q.  Now,  you  take  the  position,  I  understand,  Doctor,  that  pasteur- 
ization is  objectionable  because  dealers  are  likely  to  use  it  to  cover  up 
unsanitary  milk  and  unsanitary  conditions,  to  make  dairy  milk  salable 
and  more  or  less  harmless  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  I  won't  subscribe  to  the  latter  part  of  that  statement. 
If  you  mean  the  established  method,  a  correct  scientific  method  of  pas- 
teurization, then  I  will  subscribe  to  the  latter  part  of  your  statement. 

Q.  Then  there  is  no  objection  to  carrying  out  strict  sanitary  meas- 
ures, and  also  pasteurizing  milk? 

A.  Given  strict  sanitary  measures  and  scientific  pasteurization,  of 
course. 

Q.     What  are  proper  sanitary  conditions? 

A.  I  want  as  little  cow  manure — and  every  other  city — as  we  can 
possibly  find  in  it.  As  I  said  this  morning,  we  ought  not  to  have  more 
than  three-quarters  of  a  ton  of  cow  manure  in  our  milk  a  year. 

Q.     What  are  the  effects  of  cow  manure  in  the  human  system  ? 

A.     I  don't  think  it  has  been  determined. 

Q.     It  is  a  disgusting  thought,  isn't  it? 

A.  Doubtless  makes  children  sick.  The  poorer  the  care,  the  dirtier 
the  milk.  Clean  milk  and  good  care  are  rather  companionable.  Dirty 
milk  and  bad  care — how  much  is  due  to  dirty  milk  and  bad  care,  and 
how  much  to  clean  milk  and  good  care,  nobody  knows. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 217 

Q.  There  are  various  cities  in  this  country  about  the  size  of  Roch- 
ester or  larger,  that  require  that  all  milk  should  be  pasteurized  and  sold 
as  pasteurized  milk? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  There  are  certain  provisions  in  the  State  Milk  Law  of 
New  York  State  which  provide  for  it. 

Q.     That  is  required  as  to  the  supply  of  the  City  of  New  York? 

A.     I  don't  know. 

Q.     Philadelphia,  how  about  that  ? 

A.  I  don't  know.  I  don't  know  about  the  pasteurization  require- 
ments relating  to  any  city  at  the  present  time. 

Q.  Has  there  ever  been  agitation  in  the  City  of  Rochester  that  you 
have  known 'of,  to  get  such  a  requirement  in  force? 

A.  Oh,  yes.  The  milk  ordinance  of  the  City  of  Rochester  is  the 
milk  statute  of  the  state,  the  Statute  of  the  State  Department  of  Health, 
and  that  is  complied  with.  Of  course  you  know  the  State  Department 
of  Health  has  a  splendid  statute  under  which  it  graded  milk,  i.  e.,  Grade 
"A"  for  Grade  "A"  people  who  had  Grade  "A"  pocketbooks;  Grade  "B" 
for  Grade  "B"  people  who  had  Grade  "B"  pocketboks;  Grade  "C"  for 
Grade  "C"  people  with  Grade  "C"  pocketbooks.  That  is  a  fine  ordinance. 
If  you  had  Grade  "A"  water  that  would  be  Grade  "A"  water  absolutely 
protected  from  typhoid,  Grade  "B"  would  be  some  other  kind  of  water. 
Grade  "B"  water  would  be  the  water  now  fed  to  a  lot  of  residents  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Manitou.  I  just  saw  a  woman  who  had  typhoid  as  a 
result  of  drinking  the  water  down  there.  We  should  have  a  comparison 
betwen  the  milk  graded  in  that  way  as  in  the  case  of  water.  A,  B,  C 
grades  indicate  degrees  of  wholesomeness.  It  indicates  the  degree  of  care 
which  the  milk  has  been  put  through  and  the  degrees  of  care  with  which 
it  has  been  handled. 

Q.  How  do  you  feel  yourself  about  the  sale  of  raw  and  pasteurized 
milk? 

A.  I  am  in  favor  of  the  sale  of  raw  milk  until  such  time  as  suffi- 
cient sanitary  safeguards  are  thrown  around  milk  to  make  it  safe  for  pas- 
teurization. I  have  never  been  in  favor  of  pasteurizing  all  kinds  of  milk 
as  in  the  pasteurization  craze  which  passed  over  Rochester. 

Q.  If  pasteurization  does  do  something  towards  rendering  milk 
wholesome  for  human  consumption,  isn't  it  a  mistake  to  delay  pasteuriza- 
tion of  the  milk  ? 

A.     I  don't  think  so. 

Q.  You  advocate  continuing  sale  of  raw  milk,  which  may  contain 
those  dangerous  organisms  which  may  be  destroyed  by  pasteurization— 
to  the  people  of  Rochester? 

A.    I  do. 


218  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

Q.     You  would  kill  them? 

A.  No,  it  might  contaminate  them.  It  may  kill  a  lot  more  people, 
and  it  may  put  off  the  evil  day,  as  it  doubtless  does.  Witness  this  hear- 
ing. I  don't  mean  this  is  the  evil  day.  This  is  one  of  the  best  milk  days 
Rochester  has  had. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  ought  to  be  done,  if  anything,  to  the  regula- 
tions here  in  Rochester  in  order  to  improve  the  supply  of  milk? 

A.  Well,  there  are  only  some  small  though  important  changes  in 
the  regulations:  those  regulations  for  temperature,  of  the  milk  coming 
in;  the  regulation  for  a  tubercular  test;  the  better  enforcement  of  the 
regulations  relating  to  the  cleanliness  of  dairies,  so  that  one  might  bring 
it  so  that  there  were  only  two  or  three  or  ten  per  cent,  that  were  below. 
Then,  of  course,  the  introduction  of  the  ordinance  for  pasteurization. 

In  order  to  clear  up  any  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  Health  Officers 
of  the  State  of  New  York  as  to  what  is  meant  by  the  term,  "pasteuriza- 
tion," and  to  remove  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  adoption  of  pas- 
teurization based  on  the  ground  that  there  are  no  standards  for  this 
process,  the  State  Health  authorities  define  pasteurization  as  follows : 

"Regulation  12.  Pasteurization.  Except  where  a  different  standard  of 
pasteuriaztion  has  been  adopted  previous  to  the  1st  day  of  September,  1914,  by 
the  local  health  authorities,  no  milk  or  cream  shall  be  sold,  or  offered  for  sale, 
as  pasteurized,  unless  it  has  been  subjected  to  a  temperature  of  142  to  145 
degrees  Fahrenheit  for  not  less  than  thirty  minutes,  and  no  milk  or  cream 
which  has  been  heated  by  any  method  shall  be  sold  or  offered  for  sale  unless 
the  heating  conforms  to  the  provisions  of  this  regulation. 

After  pasteurization,  the  milk  or  cream  shall  be  immediately  cooled  and 
placed  in  clean  containers  and  the  containers  shall  be  immediately  sealed.  No 
milk  or  cream  shall  be  pasteurized  more  than  once.  This  regulation  shall  take 
effect  throughout  the  State  of  New  York,  except  in  the  City  of  New  York, 
on  the  1st  day  of  January,  1916." 

Consequently,  since  the  1st  day  of  January,  1916,  the  heating  of  milk 
or  cream  by  any  other  process  than  the  process  above  designated  has  been 
illegal,  and  it  is  proper  therefore  to  assume  that,  if  other  processes  of 
heating  have  been  used  in  Rochester,  or  in  any  other  municipality,  since 
January  1st,  1916,  the  same  has  been  due  to  wilful  neglect  of  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  State  regulations,  either  by  milk  dealers  or  local  health 
officers. 

As  previously  stated,  the  City  of  Rochester  has  no  milk  regulations 
of  its  own.  It  has  depended  entirely  upon  the  state  regulations  for  the 
control  of  its  milk  supply.  The  attitude  of  the  State  Public  Health 
authorities  is  one  which  makes  it  clear  that  cities  of  the  first  class  are 
expected  to  pass  regulations  of  their  own  which  are  most  stringent  than 
the  state  regulations.  While  the  state  authorities  have  given  a  clear 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER  219 

definition  of  pasteurization,  yet  the  adoption  of  pasteurization  by  the 
cities  of  the  state  is  entirely  optional.  Consequently,  the  fact  that  the 
City  of  Rochester  has  not  adopted  more  stringent  regulations  since  the 
state  regulations  were  promulgated  in  November,  1914,  and  has  not 
adopted  any  regulation  requiring  the  pasteurization  of  milk  since  the  state 
authorities  denned  pasteurization  on  the  same  date,  is  a  responsibility  rest- 
ing entirely  on  the  shoulders  of  the  public  health  authorities  of  the  City 
of  Rochester. 


220 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

In  undertaking  to  make  recommendations  based  on  a  survey  of  this 
kind,  these  recommendations  would  be  expected  to  follow  certain  con- 
clusions drawn  from  the  evidence  presented. 

The  material  which  has  been  collected  in  this  report  is  of  such  a 
character  that  in  each  department  of  inquiry  it  seems  to  lead  so  obviously 
to  certain  conclusions  that  the  director  of  this  survey  believes  these  con- 
clusions appear  on  the  face  of  the  evidence  presented  in  the  previous 
pages  and  that  they  are  sufficiently  plain  to  any  intelligent  reader.  Con- 
sequently, no  attempt  will  be  made  to  draw  up  a  complete  list  of  con- 
clusions. 

The  following  recommendations  are  presented  in  the  belief  that  the 
material  of  this  report  and  the  conclusions  which  are  so  obvious  form  a 
basis  which  must  be  recognized  as  justifying  the  recommendations  here- 
with presented. 

These  recommendatiens  are  divided  into  four  parts  as  they  apply  to 
four  groups  of  persons,  viz.,  to  the  city  authorities,  to  milk  producers,  to 
milk  dealers,  and  to  milk  consumers. 

I 
RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  CITY  AUTHORITIES 

1.  It  is  recommended  that  immediate  steps  be  taken  to  bring  about 
the  centralization  of   the  business  of  milk  distribution  in  the  City  of 
Rochester,  on  the  ground  that  the  present  competitive  sysem  is  a  menace 
to  public  health  because  of  insufficient  sanitary  care  of  the  product,  and 
because  of  unnecessary  and  excessive  expenses. 

2.  That  the  City  of  Rochester  join  with  the  City  of  New  York  and 
other  cities  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  asking  for  legislation  at  Albany 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  for  the  City  of  Rochester  and  other  cities 
such  additional  legal  powers  as  will  enable  the  city  to  control  the  distribu- 
tion of  milk,  and  that  such  legislation  be  asked  for  on  the  ground  that  such 
municipal  control  is  necessary  to  properly  safeguard  public  health. 

3.  That,  in  particular,  the  City  of  Rochester  ask  for  amendments 
to  the  City  Charter  which  will  give  to  the  city  the  following  powers : 

(a)  Power  to  establish  and  operate  a  municipal  milk  distributing 
business  under  municipal  auspices,  and  to  purchase  the  property  of  exist- 
ing milk  distributers  if  necessary. 

(b)  Power  to  grant  a  franchise  to  a  public  service  corporation  for 
the  distribution  of  milk  and  for  municipal  control  of  the  same  in  respect 
to  profits  and  prices  and  in  all  other  respects  necessary  to  protect  the 
milk  consumer  against  the  abuse  of  power  by  such  a  corporation. 


MILK    SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 221 

(c)  Power  to  examine  the  books  and  accounts  of  all  milk  dealers 
distributing  milk  in  the  city,  and  to  subpoena  such  books  and  such  dealers 
for  examination  by  designated   city  authorities   when  the  interests  of 
public  health  demand  such  examinations. 

(d)  That  the  legal  status  of  the  director  of  the  Bureau  of  Health 
of  the  City  of  Rochester  should  be  made  identical  with  the  legal  status  of 
the  health  officers  of  the  City  of  New  York,  the  City  of  Buffalo,  and 
other  first-class  cities,  so  that  this  bureau,  in  its  administration,  will  not 
be  independent  in  any  way  of  its  responsibilities  to  the  city  government. 

4.  That,  if  the  State  Legislature  will  grant  such  powers  for  the 
control  of  the  distribution  of  milk,  any  or  all  of  these  powers  be  made 
discretionary  with  the  city  and  not  mandatory. 

5.  That  the  city  shall  exercise  such  powers  only  in  the  event  that 
the  system  of  milk  distribution  provided  by  the  milk  industry  proves  itself 
to  be  inadequate  for  the  proper  safeguarding  of  public  health  through  the 
practice  of  insanitary  or  imperfect  methods  or  uneconomical  service. 

6.  That  the   city   authorities   encourage   the   centralization  of   the 
business  of  milk  distribution  under  the  auspices  of  the  present  industry 
with  the  object  of  avoiding,  if  possible,  the  establishment  of  muncipal 
ownership  through  the  securing  of  efficient  service  under  private  owner- 
ship. 

7.  That  the  city  immediately  establish,  as  part  of  its  sanitary  code, 
milk  ordinances  and  regulations  suitable  for  a  city  df  the  first  class,  and 
in  particular  an  ordinance  requiring  the  pasteurization  of  all  milk  not 
produced  from  cows  tuberculin  tested  and  otherwise  safeguarded  against 
cattle  diseases,  human  diseases  and  contamination,  such  requirements  be- 
ing equivalent  to  the  requirements  for  certified  milk. 

8.  That  the  city  require  the  pasteurization  of  all  milk  used  by  public 
institutions  and  take  steps  to  provide  a  milk  supply  adequate  for  the  needs 
of  all  of  the  inmates  of  public  institutions. 

9.  That  the  city  arrange  to  dispense  milk  through  the  public  schools 
at  cost,  so  that  at  least  one  half-pint  bottle  (one  glass)  of  milk  can  be 
placed  within  reach  of  every  school  child  every  day  at  the  school  lunch 
hour,  in  accordance  with  the  system  in  successful  operation  at  the  present 
time  in  the  City  of  Seattle. 

10.  That,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Board  of  Education,  the  weight 
and  height  of  every  school  child  be  determined  and  recorded  annually, 
preferably  in  one  of  the  fall  months,  and  that  the  relationship  of  the  diet 
of  the  child,  especially  with  respect  to  the  drinking  of  milk,  be  also 
recorded  with  the  purpose  of  determining  the  degree  of  undernourish- 
ment of  school  children  and  providing  against  such  undernourishment. 

(The   data   secured   on   this   subject   under    this   survey,   although 
meagre  and  incomplete,  emphatically  demonstrates  the  vital  importance 


222  MILK   SURVEY    OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 

of  milk  to  the  growing  child  and  suggests  the  great  benefits  which  can 
be  secured  through  systematic  recording  of  the  children's  weight  and 
"height  and  steps  to  provide  children  with  the  milk  required  for  their 
growing  needs.  In  no  other  way  can  the  city  do  so  much  for  the  welfare 
of  its  future  citizens.) 

11.  That  the  city  establish  and  maintain  a  sufficient  number  of 
Infant  milk  depots,  similar  to  those  operated  by  the  City  of  New  York 
and  elsewhere,  for  the  dispensing  of  milk  for  infants  and  for  children 
under  school  age  to  place  within  reach  of  the  children  of  the  poor,  at  a 
reasonable  price,  all  milk  required  for  such  infants  and  children.  These 
depots  might  be  located  in  public  schools  or  at  other  convenient  points  in 
the  congested  districts.  The  success  of  the  New  York  infant  milk  depots 
justifies  the  City  of  Rochester  in  furnishing  such  a  milk  supply  for  infant 
feeding  under  such  auspices. 

II 

RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  MILK  PRODUCERS 

1.  It  is   recommended  that  the  milk   producers   establish  a   milk 
factory  for  the  handling  of  surplus  milk,  either  in  the  City  of  Rochester 
or  at  some  other  convenient  point.     The  milk  producers'  organization 
should  assume  entire  responsibility  for  all  surplus  milk.     Through  the 
centralization  of  the  manufacture  of  surplus  milk  into  milk  products,  a 
great  saving  in  loss  from  surplus  would  result. 

The  producers'  organization  would  then  be  in  a  position  to  furnish 
to  the  milk  distributing  concerns  of  Rochester  exactly  the  quantity  of 
fluid  milk  which  the  market  demands  and  losses  on  surplus,  due  to  lack 
of  facilities  for  handling  the  same  on  the  part  of  small  dealers,  would  be 
entirely  eliminated.  In  such  a  surplus  factory  the  producers  can  control 
to  better  advantage  the  milk  furnished  by  the  individual  members  of  their 
organization,  making  butter  fat  tests,  milk  measurements,  and  carrying 
out  cooling  and  refrigeration  much  more  effectively  than  is  done  under 
the  present  competitive  system. 

2.  That  milk  producers  establish  a  centralized  hauling  system  for 
hauling  milk  from  dairy  farms  to  the  point  of  shipment,  thus  eliminating 
the  numerous  individual  farmers'  wagons  now  engaged  in  such  hauling. 

3.  That  milk  producers  eliminate  as  rapidly  as  possible  dairy  cows 
which  are  unprofitable,  by  establishing  throughout  the  milk  producing 
territory  cow  testing  associations  which  will  include  every  milk  producer. 

4.  That  milk  producers  increase  the  size  of  their  herds  as  the  quick- 
est means  of  reducing  the  cost  of  milk  production. 

5.  That  the  milk  producers'  organization  agree  upon  a   standard 
type  and  size  of  milk  can,  and  that  all  producers  use  the  same  type  and 


MILK  SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  ROCHESTER      223. 

size  of  milk  can,  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  the  cost  of  handling  milk 
cans  and  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  washing  and  sterilizing  of  milk 
cans. 

Ill 

RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  MILK  DEALERS 

1.  It  is  recommended  that  the  milk  dealers  of  the  City  of  Roch- 
ester immediately  take  steps  to  centralize  the  business  of  milk  distribution 
under  their  own  auspices  for  the  purpose  of  demonstrating  to  the  City 
of  Rochester  that  under  such  centralized  system  they  can  render  to  the 
city  a  service  which  will  handle  the  product  in  such  a  sanitary  and 
economical  manner  that  their  service  will  furnish  satisfactory  safeguards 
for  the  public  health  of  the  city.  Only  by  rendering  such  efficient  service 
as  this  can  the  milk  distributers  hope  to  retain  the  business  of  milk  dis- 
tribution in  the  hands  of  private  capital,  and  avoid  the  establishment  by. 
the  city  of  complete  municipal  control. 

The  advantages  to  be  gained  by  the  milk  dealers  under  such  cen- 
tralization, including  economies  in  freight,  hauling,  plant  operations, 
delivery,  office  charges,  purchase  of  supplies,  all  other  expenses,  and 
administration  charges,  have  been  pointed  out  in  detail  in  the  previous 
pages  in  this  report. 

IV 
RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  MILK  CONSUMERS 

1.  It  is  recommended  that  every  parent  or  guardian  of  children 
secure  not  less  than  one  quart  of  milk  daily  for  the  use  of  every  growing 
child  in  the  City  of  Rochester,  and  that  those  persons  who  are  informed 
regarding  the  vital  necessity  of  milk  and  other  dairy  products  in  the 
diet  of  the  child  make  it  their  business  to  convey  this  information  to  those 
less  well  informed,  and  that,  through  women's  clubs  and  other  consumers' 
organizations,  publicity  be  given  to  the  food  value  of  milk  as  compared 
with  other  food,  even  at  present  prices,  and  that  all  of  the  consumers  of 
Rochester  be  made  to  realize  that  there  is  no  substitute  for  milk  in  the 
diet  of  the  growing  child. 

2.  That  milk  consumers  co-operate  in  reducing  the  loss  on  milk 
bottles  by  promptly  returning  to  the  milk  dealer  all  milk  bottles  delivered 
to  them,  and  that  they  also  reduce  the  cost  of  bottle  washing  by  return- 
ing the  milk  bottles  in  a  cleanly  condition. 

3.  That  milk  consumers  co-operate  in  reducing  the  cost  of  collect- 
ing milk  accounts  by  promptly  paying  the  milk  dealer  for  all  milk  re- 
ceived. 

(In  many  cities  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  a  milk  ticket  system 
is  used.  The  milk  consumer  pays  cash  for  milk  tickets  in  advance,  thus 


224  MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

making  the  collection  of  milk  accounts  unnecessary.     This  system  has 
many  arguments  in  its  favor  in  a  city  of  the  type  of  Rochester.) 

RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  THE  CITY  AS  A  WHOLE 

In  considering  the  milk  problem  faced  by  the  City  of  Rochester, 
there  are  certain  aspects  which  affect  the  producer,  distributor,  consumer 
and  city  independently,  and  other  aspects  which  affect  these  four  groups 
of  persons  jointly. 

The  excessive  costs  of  milk  distribution  shown  in  the  material  pre- 
sented in  this  milk  survey  are  costs  which  have  grown  up  as  a  result  of 
the  competitive  system.  It  must  be  recognized  that  the  city  itself  is 
primarily  responsible  for  the  competitive  system  of  milk  distribution 
which  now  exists. 

Rochester  is  not  alone  in  this  responsibility,  but  the  same  is  shared 
by  all  other  cities  of  America  which,  by  their  antagonism  to  centralization 
and  monopoly  in  the  milk  industry,  have  fostered  within  their  limits  the 
growth  and  development  of  the  competitive  system  of  milk  distribution. 

Public  attention  which  has  now  concerned  itself  in  Rochester  and 
other  cities  with  the  cost  of  milk  and  the  relation  of  milk  to  public  health 
has  suddenly  discovered  this  competitive  system  carries  with  it  numer- 
ous unnecessary  expenses.  The  remedy  which  is  prescribed  as  a  result 
of  all  milk  surveys  and  all  commissions  and  committees  appointed  to  in- 
quire into  the  cost  of  milk  distribution  is,  in  every  instance,  centralization 
and  monopoly.  In  short,  the  competitive  system  which  the  people  them- 
selves have  fostered  and  developed  is  now  charged  with  the  excessive  cost 
of  milk  to  the  milk  consumers,  and  held  responsible  for  not  providing 
milk  at  such  prices  as  could  be  secured  only  under  a  monopoly. 

The  attitude  of  the  public  mind  toward  the  milk  industry  is  there- 
fore inconsistent  and  unjust  in  that  the  remedy,  viz.,  centralization  and 
monopoly,  which  is  universally  prescribed,  is  a  remedy  which  the  indus- 
try itself  has  not  been  allowed  to  apply.  Any  efforts  toward  centraliza- 
tion and  monopoly  by  the  milk  industry  have  been  universally  cried  down 
by  the  public  on  the  ground  that  the  result  would  be  a  trust  injurious  to 
public  welfare. 

The  advantages  of  centralization  and  monopoly  have  become  so 
obvious  that  the  public  has  been  entirely  converted  to  the  value  of  this 
remedy,  and,  in  fact,  convinced  that  centralization  and  monopoly  con- 
stitutes the  only  remedy  for  reducing  the  cost  of  milk  distribution. 

Before  proceeding  to  apply  such  a  remedy  as  this  under  municipal 
auspices,  it  would  seem  only  fair  and  just  to  invite  the  milk  industry  itself 
to  make  a  demonstration  of  the  efficiency  of  its  service  to  the  public 
through  the  application  of  this  remedy  under  its  own  auspices. 


MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER  225 

In  three  cities  in  America  the  milk  industry  has  been  tacitly  per- 
mitted to  adopt  centralization  to  such  an  extent  that  monopolies  are  prac- 
tically in  existence.  These  cities  are :  Calgary,  Canada ;  Ottawa,  Canada, 
and  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  An  examination  of  the  conditions  in  these 
cities  shows  clearly  that  these  milk  monopolies  have  not  takeji  undue 
advantage  of  their  power,  but  have,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  rendered  to  the 
cities  named  a  service  unequaled  by  the  milk  industries  "of  any  other  cities 
on  this  continent.  In  these  three  cities  the  cost  of  milk  has  been  kept  at 
the  lowest  point,  and  the  dealers'  spread,  or  share  of  the  milk  price,  has 
been  lower  than  in  any  other  cities. 

Consequently,  in  the  City  of  Rochester,  before  proceeding  to  estab- 
lish a  monopoly  under  municipal  auspices,  it  would  seem  to  be  more 
consistent  with  purely  American  policies  to  permit  the  milk  industry 
itself  to  apply  the  principle  of  centralization  to  the  business  of  milk 
distribution,  and  to  make  a  demonstration  to  the  citizens  of  Rochester 
of  the  efficiency  of  the  service  which  it  can  render  under  such  central- 
ization. 

The  business  of  milk  distribution  is  highly  specialized.  Public 
ownership  would  furnish  no  guarantee  of  efficient  service  unless  it  could 
guarantee  the  same  high  degree  of  specialization  which  has  already  been 
developed  in  the  present  industry.  Public  ownership  should  be  held  in 
the  background  as  a  last  resort.  It  should  be  applied  only  in  the  event 
that  the  industry  itself  proves  incompetent  to  render  efficient  service. 

The  proposition  recently  made  by  the  executive  officer  of  the  largest 
milk  company  in  the  City  of  New  York  to  the  city  authorities  is  one  which 
deserves  serious  consideration  by  that  city  and  by  all  other  cities.  This 
proposition  is  that  a  milk  monopoly  be  organized  by  the  milk  distributers, 
but  that  the  board  of  directors  of  such  monopoly  should  include  repre- 
sentatives of  milk  consumers  and  milk  producers,  and  that  a  limitation  of 
profits  should  be  established,  and  that  the  books  of  the  monopoly  should 
be  open  to  the  public.  This  proposition  has  many  features  which  would 
contribute  to  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the  problem  of  milk  distribution, 
and  is  a  remedy  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  director  of  this  survey, 
should  be  tried  in  advance  of  the  application  of  municipal  ownership. 

The  milk  monopoly,  under  private  ownership,  would  be  in  the  public 
interests  only  provided  the  public  were  properly  safeguarded  against  the 
abuse  of  the  additional  power  which  the  milk  industry  would  thus  secure. 
The  only  way  in  which  such  a  power  can  be  properly  counterbalanced 
would  be  through  the  securing  of  such  additional  legal  powers  by  the 
city  itself  that  the  city  can  at  any  time  control  such  monopoly  and  take 
over  the  business  of  milk  distribution  under  its  own  auspices. 

Therefore,  the  director  of  this  survey,  recommends  that  these  two 
movements  be  inaugurated  hand  in  hand.  On  the  one  hand  the  estab- 


226 MILK   SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY   OF   ROCHESTER 

lishment  of  centralization  under  the  auspices  of  the  industry,  and  on  the 
other  hand  the  securing  by  the  city  of  such  additional  legal  powers  as 
will  effectively  curb  and  control  the  action  of  such  monopoly,  with  the 
ultimate  purpose  in  the  background  of  taking  over  the  entire  industry  of 
milk  distribution  by  the  city  in  the  event  that  the  service  rendered  by  the 
monopoly  proves  inadequate  for  the  safeguarding  of  public  health. 

The  reorganization  of  the  milk  industry  from  the  competitive  system 
which  now  exists  to  a  centralized  system  will  necessarily  require  extensive 
readjustments  and  at  least  several  months  of  time  in  order  to  prevent 
unnecessary  losses  and  to  do  justice  to  all  business  concerns. 

The  city  authorities  should  allow  a  reasonable  length  of  time  for 
such  a  reorganization  to  be  accomplished.  If,  after  the  expiration  of 
such  time,  the  industry  shows  no  inclination  to  bring  about  such  a  reor- 
ganization, it  will  be  proper  for  the  city  authorities  to  consider  the  cen- 
tralization of  the  industry  under  its  own  auspices. 

The  feeding  of  infants  and  children  presents  a  special  problem.  In 
order  to  place  sufficient  milk  within  reach  of  every  growing  child,  the 
municipality  is  justified  in  going  into  this  branch  of  the  milk  business 
under  municipal  auspices.  The  best  channels  for  milk  distribution  to 
children  and  infants  are  the  public  schools  and  infant  milk  depots. 

It  is,  therefore,  recommended  that  the  City  of  Rochester  take  im- 
mediate steps  for  municipal  milk  distribution  for  children  and  infants 
through  the  public  schools  and  other  infant  milk  stations. 

RECOMMENDATIONS  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SAFETY  COMMITTEE 
OF  THE  COMMON  COUNCIL 

Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  23,  1919. 
To  the  Honorable,  the  Common  Council  of  the  City  of  Rochester: 

Gentlemen— Your  Public  Safety  Committee  whom  you  directed  by  ordinance 
duly  passed  on  the  22d  day  of  April,  1919,  to  inquire  into  the  several  matters  per- 
taining to  the  production  and  distribution  of  milk  as  affecting  the  City  of  Rochester, 
as,  more  specifically  set  forth  in  the  resolution  which  is  hereinafter  contained,  do 
respectfully  report  as  follows : 

Your  committee,  upon  authority  granted  by  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Appor- 
tionment, employed  Dr.  Charles  E.  North  of  New  York  City,  as  director  of  the 
investigation,  and  such  other  assistants  as  he  recommended.  Much  valuable  assist- 
ance was  given  by  organizations  and  individuals  particularly  interested  in  the 
subject,  to  all  of  whom  the  committee  feels  deeply  indebted. 

Examination  on  the  ground  was  made  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pro- 
ducers of  milk  shipped  to  the  City  of  Rochester,  in  various  localities,  with  a  view 
to  ascertaining  what  it  actually  costs  to  produce  the  milk.  A  careful  survey  was 
made  of  the  .plant  and  business  of  each  dealer  distributing  milk  within  the  City  of 
Rochester,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  actual  cost  of  milk  distribution 
within  our  city  limits. 

Lai  (oratory  tests  were  made  by  the  Committee's  experts,  of  many  samples  of 
milk  sold  in  the  city  and  a  careful  inquiry  was  conducted  into  the  character, 
quality  and  amount  of  milk  and  its  products  used  in  various  institutions  in  the 
city  and  in  private  homes  as  well. 

The  results  of  the  investigation  are  submitted  herewith  in  the  form  of  tabula- 
tions and  explanatory  comment  appropriately  grouped  in  chapters. 


MILK    SURVEY   OF   THE   CITY    OF   ROCHESTER 227 

Your  committee  sought  to  afford  every  party  interested  an  opportunity  to  state 
and  prove  his  case,  and  determined  from  the  outset  to  learn  and  permanently  record 
for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  Rochester  the  truth  in  respect  to  every  phase  of 
the  milk  question,  and  thus  to  arrive  at  and  establish  a  basis  for  any  action  which 
it  might  hereafter  be  deemed  advisable  to  take.  Your  committee  feels  that  this 
has  been  fully  accomplished. 

Dr.  North  was  asked  to  prepare  and  submit  such  recommendations  as  he 
wished  to  make  after  concluding  the  investigation.  These  recommendations  appear 
at  the  foot  of  the  report.  As  to  the  suggestion  that  the  City  seek  legislative  author- 
ity to  grant  a  franchise  to  a  public  service  corporation  for  the  distribution  of  milk, 
your  committee  is  advised  that  the  distribution  of  milk  is  not  and  may  not  properly 
be  considered  a  public  utility  to  be  the  subject  of  a  franchise,  but  your  committee 
concurs  in  the  recommendation  to  secure  all  possible  proper  legislative  authority 
for  the  direction  and  control  of  the  distribution  of  milk. 

Your  committee  finds  and  respectfully  reports  that  it  is  not  expedient  for  the 
City  to  attempt  the  purchase  and  distribution  by  the  City  of  Rochester  of  all  milk 
used  within  its  limits  at  this  time. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  having  once  embarked  upon  such  an  enterprise 
which  would  involve  the  expenditure  of  upwards  of  a  million  dollars,  the  City 
could  not  abandon  the  project  but  would  be  obliged  to  continue  whether  it  suc- 
ceeded or  not.  In  other  words,  it  is  not  a  matter  in  which  experiment  is  possible. 
Our  investigation  has  disclosed  that  centralization  of  milk  distribution  will  result 
in  important  economies  which  would  accrue  to  the  financial  benefit  of  the  con- 
sumers of  milk  by  lowering  the  price  to  them.  There  is,  however,  no  reason  why 
such  centralization  may  not  be  carried  put  by  private  individual  effort,  and  your 
committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  City  of  Rochester  should  attempt  to  secure 
this  before  attempting  municipal  ownership. 

To  produce  the  milk  now  consumed  in  the  City  of  Rochester  on  municipally 
owned  farms  would  require  the  expenditure  of  about  twenty  million  dollars  for 
land  alone.  Your  committee  has  been  unable  to  find  that  the  City  of  'Rochester 
would  be  able  to  lower  the  cost  of  production  by  this  method,  and  therefore  reports 
that  to  enter  upon  such  a  course  would  not  be  expedient. 

Your  committee  respectfully  recommends  the  adoption  and  rigid  Enforcement  of 
ordinances  prohibiting  the  retail  sale  of  milk  or  cream  within  the  city  limits  other- 
wise than  in  carefully  closed  containers,  filled  before  being  loaded  for  delivery, 
and  requiring  that  all  milk  and  cream  sold  at  wholesale  be  contained  in  sealed  cans 
or  other  containers. 

Your  committee  further  respectfully  recommends  the  adoption  and  rigid  en- 
forcement of  an  ordinance  requiring  the  proper  pasteurization  under  municipal 
inspection  and  control,  of  all  milk  and  cream  sold  in  the  City  of  Rochester,  except 
certified  and  grade  A  milk,  and  that  such  ordinance  take  effect  at  the  end  of  such 
a  period  as  will  afford  reasonable  opportunity  for  dealers  to  arrange  their  equip- 
ment accordingly. 

The  weighing  and  measuring  of  children  in  the  public  schools  is  regularly 
carried  out  during  the  year  under  the  direction  of  the  Health  Officer,  and  is  now 
being  done.  Your  committee  procured  other  data  in  respect  to  race,  sex,  milk-diet, 
etc.,  through  the  Department  of  Education,  but  a  complete  tabulation  cannot  be 
had  until  the  weighing  and  measuring  has  been  completed,  and  we  have  been  able 
to  include  in  this  report  only  one  table. 

We  respectfully  recommend  that  when  the  weighing  and  measuring  for  the 
present  school  year  shall  have  been  finished,  the  tabulation  be  completed  and  made 
available  for  reference. 

Your  committee  further  respectfully  recommends  that  its  report  be  printed  and 
bound  so  as  to  be  available  to  all  properly  interested  persons  and  organizations, 
with  such  arrangements  and  restrictions  in  respect  to  distribution  either  gratis  or 
by  sale  as  your  honorable  body  shall  deem  wise. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

GEORGE  B.  HART, 
B.  B.  RAPPLEYE, 
JOHN  A.  RUSSELL, 
LINDEN   STEELSMITH, 
MARTIN   B.   O'NEIL, 
Public  Safety  Committee  of  the  Common  Council. 


PRESS  OF 

ROCHESTER  TIMES-UNION 
ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


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